


Swapped

by chrono96



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Genderswap, Scallison, Slow Burn, Stydia, Teen Wolf AU, genderswap AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-05-14 21:05:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 60
Words: 111,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5758825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrono96/pseuds/chrono96
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I should have known you were thinking about him. You always are.” Allison laughs, shaking her head and lying down next to Lydia. “I don't know what you see in him, really.”</p><p>“Allison, come on," Lydia sits up and props herself up on her elbows, looking at her best friend. “He's so hot. And smart, and funny, and...hot.”</p><p>“Hmm. Are you sure we’re both talking about the same Stiles Stilinski here?”</p><p>AU where Stiles has Lydia's personality, and Lydia has his. Stydia and Scallison. (Basically the same storyline as the TV show, just swapped personalities, and how they would do things slightly different) (Also Allison is still alive)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stiles Stilinski

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. It's only been what, a week since I finished my last story? It's just that I'm already bored out of my mind without having something to write. This is going to be kind of different than some other stories I've written, so just bear with me! It starts off slow first, but I promise it will get better soon! 
> 
> (Also - Allison and Scott still have the same personalities, but their lives are switched. So Scott is the new guy, and Allison is the one working at the vet!)

“Lydia. You've been sitting here for over an hour and you haven't even touched your homework.” Allison sighs, setting her Biology book down and focusing on Lydia, who's lying on her back and looking up at the ceiling. 

“I know.” Lydia sighs helplessly, and smiles. “I can't help it.”

“I should have known you were thinking about  _ him.  _ You always are.” Allison laughs, shaking her head and lying down next to her. “I don't know what you see in him, really.”

“Allison, come on.” Lydia sits up and props herself up on her elbows, looking at her best friend. “He's so hot. And smart, and funny, and...hot.”

“Hmm. Are you sure we’re both talking about the same Stiles Stilinski here?” Allison asks, laughing. “He's a womanizer. He goes through, like, five girls a week. It's ridiculous.  _ And _ you're way smarter than him.”

“I've been in love with him forever. Seriously, like, since I was a kid. And I  _ know _ it's stupid, I do, but I can't help it. And yeah, I'll admit I don't like the way he treats girls. But he's smart. Like, really smart, even though he tries to hide it.” Lydia says, smiling dumbly at the ceiling again just thinking about it.

“Smart? Now I really know we’re talking about different people. In an alternate universe, maybe, but not this one.” Allison grins, nudging her arm. “He only parties; he doesn't study or anything like that. He's cute, Lyd, but I think you're a little biased about the other things since you're so in love with him and everything.”

“No. Like actually  _ smart _ .” Lydia turns her head, and Allison rolls her eyes playfully. “Seriously! I see him get scores of a hundred every single test in Math and Science class. Every time. And then he always lies and tells that new guy Scott McCall that he did badly to look cool or something. He only goes to parties because he doesn't  _ have  _ to study.”

“Mmm,  _ Scott McCall _ .” Allison sighs, looking as love-struck as Lydia just had been. “Now I could understand if you liked  _ him,  _ but not Stiles. Scott actually seems nice. I don't get why he's even friends with Stiles.”

“Hey!” Lydia pinched her shoulder playfully, and laughed. “Did you even hear a word I said?”

“I did, I did, I just think you could do better, is all. You shouldn't let boys interfere with your academic success. It's more important.” Allison tells her and Lydia sighs. 

“You're one to talk! You like Scott.” Lydia pokes, and Allison blushes. 

“I don't  _ like  _ him, I just think he's hot. I don't know him, really.” She grins, shrugging her shoulders. “But still; he's not taking over my whole thought process. You've spent a whole hour of study time just to think about Stiles, when you see him all day every day.” 

“Ugh, leave me alone,” she groans dramatically, and shoves a handful of potato chips in her mouth. “It's not like I  _ want  _ to like him. I know I have no chance.”

“Oh, shut up. You're like, ten times better than him in every way.” Allison tells her, squeezing her hand. 

“You're just saying that because you're my friend.” Lydia rolled her eyes, but she was still flattered enough that she couldn't help but smile. 

“Nope.” She stood up, and held her hand out to her. “You are. He doesn't know what he's missing out on. Now let's go get ice cream or something. I've had enough homework for a night.”

“God, that sounds amazing.” Lydia replies, grabbing her hand. 

“So,” Allison sips her milkshake, sitting across from Lydia in a diner booth about fifteen minutes later. “Junior year just started. Are you going to make a move or what?”

“What? No friggin’ way.” Lydia shakes her head, running her fingers up and down the freezing-cold condensation from her milkshake glass. “I have no chance. Absolutely no chance.”

“You do! If he’s as smart as you’re trying to convince me he is, then you definitely have a chance. You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and nice. And fun, too. You would be the best thing to ever happen to Stiles Stilinski.” She raises an eyebrow, and shrugs her shoulders. 

“He doesn’t even know I exist. Seriously. His eyes just ghost over me. It’s like I’m friggin’ invisible!” Lydia sighs, throwing her hands up in the air animatedly. 

“Remember that time he bumped into you in the hallway?” Allison asks, tearing a piece of cookie off of the extra large one they’re sharing. “He noticed you then.”

“Barely. He was late for class - he still hardly even looked at me.” She replies, shoving the entire half of her cookie in her mouth, earning a weird look from the old lady in the booth in front of them. She ignored it. “But God, we made eye contact. That was literally the best day of my life.”

“You know, back in third grade when you fell for him, I thought it would only last for a week, tops. I didn’t think it would hold out this long. I admire your dedication, as exhausting as it is.” Allison laughs, switching their shakes so she could have the Vanilla and Lydia could have the Chocolate. 

“Yeah, you’d think that since we’ve been in almost all of the same classes since third grade he’d at least know my name by now.” Lydia bit the inside of her cheek, folding her napkin into a hat. 

“See? He’s not even worth your time. He knows you’re too smart for him, and that’s not what he wants. All he wants is a piece of ass he can just sneak out on in the morning!” Allison snaps her fingers, trying to make her realize.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’d really mind that very much.” Lydia shrugs, and Allison’s mouth drops open along with a smile. 

“Okay, yes. I’ll admit - sleeping with him might be...nice.  _ But -  _ that’s not what you want from him and you know it.” She tells her, sliding over the rest of her cookie, silently giving her permission to eat it. She immediately shoved it in her mouth, earning another look from the old lady. Lydia made a face at her, and she immediately turned away with disgust. Lydia rolled her eyes. 

“I’d take anything at this point.” Lydia admitted, swallowing down the cookie. “He’s so hot. Like, unrealistically hot. It’s ridiculous. It's actually hard to look at him sometimes.”

“Scott’s hot, too.” Allison replies, and they both sigh in unison over boys that don’t even know they exist.

“Speaking of that - you’re torturing me over talking to Stiles, but you aren’t talking to Scott, either.” Lydia accuses, smiling maliciously. 

“Yeah, but it's different.” Allison whines, biting her lip. “I can't.”

“Easier said than done, huh?” Lydia laughs, and they both groan. 

“We're babies.” Allison admits, and they both laugh. 

“I know,” Lydia grins, but she's content. “But who knows what can happen tomorrow? We can just hope.”

“Yeah,” Allison replies, humming sadly. “Just hope.”


	2. Second Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm updating now since it's the first week. I'll be updating on Monday's and Friday's every week after this, so keep watch on those days :)
> 
> Here's a list of things that have changed/my ideas:
> 
> \- If Scott just moved to town and Stiles wasn't there to force him into the woods that night, wouldn't it make sense that he was never bitten? (I'll most likely throw some supernatural stuff into it, but just for future reference when Scott isn't a werewolf)
> 
> \- Like every high school, there's a popular clique, which usually contains one queen bee. If that's not Lydia, it has to be someone else. (You'll see what I'm talking about after you read this chapter)
> 
> \- Stiles, like the non-AU version of Lydia, is popular. AKA he's not as awkward, and he has a better fashion sense.
> 
> If you have any questions, leave a review and I'll answer! It will definitely progress better in the next few chapters.

“I wish first period wasn’t one of the classes he and I have together,” Lydia sighs, tossing her empty coffee cup into the trash can as they made their way to their lockers. “I’m always still half asleep. I probably look like a zombie. I know I  _ feel  _ like one.”

“You do not look like a zombie.” Allison told her, brushing her hair out of her face for her. “You look like a beautiful, messy-haired girl, with a coffee-stained Star Wars shirt. If Stiles doesn’t want you, I do.”

“Jesus, Allison, have you seen me?” She half-laughed, half-groaned, suddenly trying desperately to wipe the coffee stain off of her shirt. She gave up on it with a huff, and zipped up her hoodie to cover it. “It’s not like he sees me anyway.”

“Don’t be negative. You could get him if you tried; I know it.” Allison smiles, and tilts her chin up with confidence. 

“Have you looked at him? There’s no way he can even  _ see  _ people like me. I think he has some, like, non-loser vision where he just sees right past me.” Lydia shrugged, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. Are you going to talk to Scott? He really does seem nice.”

“Oh,” Allison bites her lip, and shakes her head. “No, I can’t. I’m too nervous. Besides, he’s probably not...he’s probably not as nice as we think. I don’t want to get my hopes up or anything.”

“You’re a hypocrite.” Lydia grins, and pokes Allison's shoulder as she raises an eyebrow.

“No, I’m not.” Allison retorts, biting her lip with a smile. “He’s just really cute, and he’s new. Everyone always goes after the new guy.”

“Yeah, but he’ll want  _ you.  _ You’re, like, the best person in every way. He’d be crazy to turn you down.” Lydia insists, shrugging her shoulders. Allison smiles and looks at the ground, kicking her foot around aimlessly. 

“I don’t know,” She starts to say, looking up at her. She opened her mouth to say something else, but then her eyes diverted from Lydia’s, to something else behind her. She breathed in deeply and leaned back against the locker. 

“Um...isn’t it me that’s supposed to be the hyperactive friend with a tiny attention span?” Lydia laughs, narrowing her eyes and waving her hand in front of Allison’s face. It didn’t do anything. 

So finally, with a roll of her eyes, Lydia turned around to see what the big deal was. And then...she saw him. Her heart immediately sped up, and her palms started to sweat. 

He’s wearing a black henley shirt, jeans, combat boots, and a beanie. He’s tall and lean like always, but that shirt - oh my  _ god,  _ that  _ shirt _ \- looks so good on him. It fits just right against the muscle of his arms. 

“Stiles freaking Stilinski.” Lydia sighs helplessly, and leans her head on Allisons arm with a smile on her face. “I think he’s gotten hotter since last week. I love his hair. I want to run my fingers through it.”

He’s walking through the halls with his backpack thrown over one arm with a lacrosse stick hanging out, and a smirk on his face. Every time he would throw his head back in laughter at something Scott McCall said, they could practically  _ hear  _ every single girl in Beacon Hills High School sighing. 

“It’s only the second week into school, too. It’s just going to keep getting worse and worse.” Allison exhales, and bites her lip as she watches a laughing Scott walk past. “God, and how did he get popular so fast? I’ve gone to this school my whole life, and you’re my only friend. Not that I’m complaining, but seriously.”

“Because he’s hot,” Lydia explains, watching them go to their lockers. “Hot people herd together.”

“It’s not fair.” Allison groans, and shuts her locker. 

“Oh, no.” Lydia sighs, physically feeling her stomach drop. Here she comes, with her long brown hair, her dark eyes, and her mean attitude. Everyone is envious of her - including Lydia.  _ Especially  _ Lydia. 

“Ashley Park.” Allison grumbles under her breath, and Lydia sinks back against the locker. “I thought her and Stiles broke up last semester? Before summer break?”

“They must be back together. They’ve been off and on since middle school.” Lydia complains, and gathers her books. “She’s so tall. God, her legs look so good in anything - it’s unjust.”

“Yeah, well her rudeness makes up for it.” Allison rolls her eyes, and pats Lydia on the back as the bell rings. “Besides, there always has to be the popular people. If it wasn’t her, it would be someone else.” 

Lydia sighs, as they make their way to their classroom. Stiles and Ashley are making out against his locker as they pass them, which makes Lydia cringe.

“Seeing two hot people making out is like staring into the sun.” Lydia complains, getting bumped into multiple times on the way to class. 

“Don't worry about it, Lydia. They'll be broken up by the end of this week most likely.” Allison gives a comforting smile, and Lydia laughs as they get to their seats. 

“Oh yeah! So I'll definitely have a chance then!” Lydia throws her hands in the air with fake excitement, and Allison laughs. Then she lowers her voice down to a whisper so no one else in the class can hear her. “They just aren’t a good match. Maybe her and Jackson Whittemore, but not her and Stiles. He’s popular, but he’s not like them.”

“As much as I don’t want that to be true for your benefit, I think he really is like them.” Allison tells her, giving her a sad look. 

“He's not just a pretty face, or I would be in love with Jackson or something. It's not that. He's different.” Lydia insists, and Allison grins and shakes her head as the bell rings. 

“Whatever you say.” She replies, and turns towards the teacher. Lydia watches the door, and sees Stiles slip in right before the teacher shut the door. Like always. 


	3. Lacrosse Practice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm updating a little early, I hope that's okay! I think I might change the update days to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturday's. Maybe not every Wednesday, but just watch for those days :)

“So…” Allison bit her lip, holding back a smile as she pulled Lydia to the side in the hallway after their last period ended. She poked her head around the corner, and then turned back around and grinned. 

“Oh, shit,” Lydia rolled her eyes, letting out a long sigh. “I know that look.”

“I just have an idea for an after school...activity.” Allison raised her eyebrow, and smiled innocently. 

By now almost everyone was cleared out of the halls, unless they had some extracurricular club or sport. It was almost strange seeing it this empty; Lydia and Allison were usually the first ones outside after class ended. 

“It depends on what kind of…” Lydia starts to say, and then her mouth actually drops open as the whole lacrosse team suddenly piles through the hallway. They’re loud and obnoxious, but hot. So,  _ so  _ hot. Every single one of them. And they smell so good, too. Until they practice at least, but they still smell good now, and that’s what matters.

“Oh God,” Allison gulps, and Lydia actually has to bite her lip so hard that it almost draws blood. They’re all talking and laughing loudly; so much that they don’t even notice Lydia and Allison standing there about to pass out. 

“So, um,” Lydia asks as they finally bust through the doors, going outside. She pushes her lips together, and turns to Allison. “What was that activity again?”

“ _ They’re _ the activity.” Allison had a small smile on her lips, and Lydia narrowed her eyes. 

“Okay, not that I wouldn’t  _ love  _ that, but I don’t really think they w-” Lydia starts, and Allison shakes her head, laughing.

“Not like that.” She explains, and takes a deep breath. “Lacrosse practice is open for anyone to watch, yeah? That includes us.”

“Ohhhhh, no.” Lydia shakes her head, turning around on her heels to walk away. Allison grabs her hood, pulling her back to her. 

“Lydia. You want a chance with Stiles, but how the hell is that going to happen if you can’t even  _ look  _ in his general direction half the time? Plus, even if it doesn’t work out, you’ll get to see the whole lacrosse team shirtless and sweaty. Including Stiles.” Allison crossed her arms, with her dimples showing from her smile. 

“I need a new best friend, like, right now.” Lydia groaned, and Allison clapped because she knew she had won.

“What if they think we’re creeps or something?” Lydia bit her lip, full of anxiety. 

“They won’t think we’re creeps. If anything they’ll just show off even more. They love any kind of attention.” Allison convinced her, and they both roll their eyes at the same time when they realize they both have a crush on some of these stupid boys.

“Okay. It’s too hot outside for you to be wearing that hoodie.” Allison told her, while digging through her bag.

“Yeah, but my shirt has a coffee stain on it, remember?” Lydia crossed her arms, already ready to put up a fight.

“Good thing I always bring extra clothes in my bag in case of emergency. I think this classifies.” Allison smiled brightly, and handed her a tank top. It was just plain black, but it was small. Really small. 

“Allison. I don’t want to be one of those people who changes myself just for some stupid boy, okay?” Lydia sighed, pulling on the straps of her backpack insecurely. 

“I don’t want you to! That’s not what I’m trying to do here, Lydia. I just...I know you’re insecure with your body, but you shouldn’t be. You’re so beautiful - show it off! Show Stiles Stilinski exactly what he’s missing.” She argued, and gave her a pleading smile. 

“Fine.” Lydia answered with a huff, trying to hide her smile. “This thing is kinda hot anyway.”

“Great.” Allison couldn’t hide her excitement, as she put her bag down. “Now take your clothes off. I don’t want to miss anything.”

“What?! Hell no! We’re in the middle of the hallway!” Lydia whispered loudly, and Allison rolled her eyes. 

“The closest bathrooms are way away, and by the time we got to the field practice would already be halfway over. No one’s here, Lyd, just do it quick.” Allison insisted, her eyes pleading. “I bet Stiles is already shirtless and dirty playing lacrosse, and you’re missing it.”

“Oh God, okay, help me really quick.” Lydia rushed, pulling off her hoodie. Allison grabbed it and pushed it down into her bag, and then helped Lydia pull her Star Wars t-shirt off. 

“Hmmm, would you look at that,” They heard a voice, and panic immediately set in Lydia’s chest. She instantly gasped and turned around, and Allison guarded her with her own body. “Nerd’s got a body under all of those Lord of the Rings t-shirts.”

“What the hell are you doing, Jackson? Aren’t you supposed to be at lacrosse practice?” Allison retorts, as Lydia finally pulls the tank top over her stomach. She can feel her face flushed with embarrassment, so she waits until it goes away before she turns around again.

“Oh, I’m sick,” He frowns, and fakes a cough into his hand. “Can’t you tell?”

“You’re such a jerk,” Lydia rolls her eyes, and his gaze falls on her. His eyes scan over her, and he bites his lip. 

“Oooh, that’s hot. Say it again.” He narrowed his eyes, smirking. She blushed again, and huffed with annoyance. Yeah, he’s the biggest jerk probably in the universe, but he’s still really good-looking, and that’s extremely distracting.

“Go be sick somewhere else.” Allison snaps, and he laughs as they walk away. 

“Hey, you should get undressed in the school hallways more often!” He yells after them, laughing, and Lydia gets so annoyed that she turns around, and throws a water bottle at him. It hits him directly in the forehead, and she turns around again while he whines. 

“That bruise will look really sexy on you, Jackson.” She laughs, and he makes an annoyed grunt, before walking the opposite way. 

“That was amazing.” Allison laughed, throwing her arm around Lydia’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Lydia laughed, looking down at the floor and breathing in. They step outside then, and she can see the bleachers. Her heart is racing like crazy. “At least it wasn’t Stiles who saw me, though. I think I would have actually died.”

“Oh yeah. That would’ve sucked. But, he would’ve realized how extremely hot you are, and then fallen in love with you instantly.” Allison laughed, and Lydia pulled her under the bleachers as an impulse. 

“How do I look? Do you think he’ll see me? I’m not going.” She decided, gulping. 

“Yes, you are.” Allison laughed, going through the motions of breathing in and out. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Lydia rolled her eyes, following the daily process they always had to go through when Lydia freaked out about something. “Okay. How do I look?”

Allison fixed Lydia’s hair slightly, and then pulled her shirt down lower. Lydia was about to protest, but Allison spoke before she could. “So hot. You need to show your boobs off more often - they’re amazing.”

“Ugh, thanks.” Lydia laughed, but it was half a whine, too. “I’m nervous.”

“Don’t be.”

“What if they come up to us?”

“Why would they?”

“I don’t know, but what if they did?”

“Okay, in the weird circumstance that one - or all - of them came up to us, we would just tell them that we’re studying. The library is too crowded and stuffy - we need some fresh air.” Allison smiled, and that calmed Lydia down a little.

“That’s actually...pretty good.” Lydia laughed, shrugging.

“Thank you.” Allison replied, looking proud. “Now let’s go.”

Lydia breathed in, and they walked out from behind the bleachers. They both tried as hard as they could to not look at the guys as they walked towards the field. They're in sight now. Lydia pretended to look down at her phone until they finally turned and walked up the bleachers. 

“Okay,” Allison let out a breath, as they sat in the middle row. “The worst part’s over.” 

“Ohhh, my God.” Lydia freaked out, diverting her eyes to her backpack but keeping them wide. “He looked over here. Holy shit, Allison, he looked right at me.”

“No, you’re just-” Allison laughs, and then turns towards her quickly. “Okay, you’re right. He’s looking over here. I’m pretty sure he still is.”

“Shit,” Lydia turned to hide her face, and then closed her eyes. “This is so freaking embarrassing. I’m gonna just dive off the side and hope I break my neck.” 

“Stop being dramatic!” Allison laughs, and starts pulling out books from her backpack. She hands one to Lydia, and then props her back up on a bar, and cracks open a book. “He’s probably just wondering why this hot girl is out here studying. It’s probably distracting him.”

“Shut up,” Lydia laughed, shaking her head and propping her feet up on the bleachers next to Allison's. “I’m not even going to look. I really do have homework to do.”

“Mhmm.” Allison grins, nudging Lydia’s leg with her own. 

“Stilinski! Focus!” Coach suddenly yells, making Lydia actually jump up and almost fall over. Her book slips out of her hand, too, but she catches it in mid-air, clutching it against her chest and guarding it with her life. She finally lays down, breathing heavily, and turns her head to see what the big deal is. 

“Sorry, Coach,” Stiles said, barely audible to them because of the distance. He glances up at them one more time, a small smile on his face, before running back into the field with his lacrosse stick. Lydia kicks Allison, and sits up.

“Did you see that?” Allison sits up too, and smiles. “He was looking right at you and smiling.”

“He saw me flipping the hell out is why!” Lydia covers her face with her hands, and groans. “God, that’s embarrassing.”

“Maybe it’s not what you think. He was staring at you before, and that’s why Coach yelled at him. He wasn't paying attention to the game.” Allison insisted, and Lydia groans. 

“He was probably only wondering why two weird girls are watching them practice.” Lydia laughs, and lays back down on the seat. She turns her head, and peaks over the top of her book so she can watch. 

“Scott,” Allison sighs, and sits up on her elbows to watch them too. 

“Stiles,” Lydia sighs as well, and let's her book rest on her chest comfortably. 

They’re all running across the field sweaty and shirtless as promised, and the end of summer sun was hazy and hot against Lydia and Allison's skin. Lydia's eyes followed Stiles’ lean, graceful body across the field, and watched everyone cheer him on as he moved in to score another goal. His arms flexed as he swung the stick with all of his force, and twisted his torso to give it more speed. His muscles clenched, showing his sweaty chest and abs, and Lydia thought she was going to fall out of her seat right then and there. He bit his lip and used all of his body strength to fling the ball out of the sticks net, and into the goal. Right past the goalie. 

They all cheered and he grinned; coach’s whistle blowing at the same time. Stiles ran his fingers through his hair (in a really, really sexy way, Lydia noticed), and glanced up at the bleachers to see if the girls had been watching. Even though Lydia was mesmerized, she still had enough sense to turn away before he noticed them staring. When she knew the coast was clear, she turned back and looked again. He's gulping down a purple Gatorade, and she chews on her lip as he tilts his head back, showing off his body. 

“Son of a bitch,” Lydia whispered under her breath, actually having to gulp. 

“I agree.” Allison whispers back, but she's watching Scott, who's talking and laughing with his teammates. 

“I think I might actually die. Is that possible?” Lydia asks, her eyes glued to his body. 

“I'm pretty sure it is, because I feel the same way.” Allison agrees, and they both take a deep breath. 

Suddenly Lydia's eyes snap up to Stiles’, who is now watching her intently, with a smug smile playing on his lips. He smashes the Gatorade bottle in his hands, and tosses it on the ground. He caught her. 

She turns away and pretends she wasn't looking, but it's too late now. He already saw her. She sees him jog back to the field out of the corner of her eye, and she immediately slaps an arm over her face with embarrassment. 

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.” Lydia whines, kicking her legs dramatically. 

“Ow, what's wrong?!” Allison gasps, sitting up. 

“He saw me. I was just staring at his hot, hot body, and when I looked up he was watching me. He smashed his Gatorade bottle in his hands, which, I'm gonna add, was super, super hot, and then he just like,  _ smirked _ at me. Like an actual smirk. Holy shit.” Lydia gulped, covering her face with her textbook. “I've never been this humiliated in my life.”

“Are you serious?! He noticed you! Oh my god.” Allison grinned, playfully slapping Lydia's legs with excitement. 

“No. No, no, no.” Lydia complains, her face still flushed. 

“You whine all the time about how he doesn't notice you, but then you complain when he does?” Allison laughs, pulling the book off of Lydia's face. 

“I  _ say  _ I want him to notice me, but I don't actually want him to  _ notice  _ me notice me.” Lydia explains, but Allison just narrows her eyes with confusion. “I want him to just, like, look at me in the hall one day as we pass each other. That's it, though. Guys like him just...don't end up with girls like me.”

“Shut up, Lydia Martin.” Allison snaps, and Lydia jolts with surprise. “You're amazing. This stupid high school hierarchy means nothing. Only the smart people are the ones that make it out of that mindset. So if he doesn't want you based on social status or something, then who gives a shit about him anyway?”

“Fine. You're right.” Lydia rolls her eyes, and sits up. “It all just sucks. I hate high school.”

“I know. Why do boys have to be so hot?” Allison huffs, looking over at Scott. 

“God had to make  _ something  _ appealing about them, or there would be no hope.” Lydia smiled, and Allison laughed out loud. She immediately blushed and covered her hand over her mouth, widening her eyes.

“Do you think they heard that?” She asks, neither of them daring to look and see. 

“Um….no?” Lydia shrugs, giving a fake smile. Allison groaned and covered her face with her hands. 

They stayed for about half an hour after that, but actually studied this time. With the occasional sneak glance, but even when she wasn't looking, it was still extremely hard to focus, because she knew he was out there. 

“I have to go to work.” Allison sighed, as they walked to their cars in the parking lot. 

“I hate when you work! I have nothing to do.” Lydia complained, fumbling for her keys. When she looked up, she saw the group of guys walking through the exit, laughing and talking. They're freshly showered now, in clean clothes. 

Allison turned to look, but then immediately snapped her head back to Lydia. 

“I'll, uh, call you tonight. Do some homework.” She smiled briefly, and then got in her car. 

Lydia didn't even glance up to see if any of the guys had noticed them, before she also got in her car, and drove home. 


	4. Tell Me Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mostly just a filler chapter. Next chapter will be longer - promise!

“Lydia.” Allison says into the phone, and Lydia sets her math book on her bed, because she knows this isn't a normal ‘just checking on you because I'm bored’ phone call.

“What?” Lydia sits up, furrowing her eyebrows. “What's up?”

“Can you meet me at the ice cream place? I have to tell you something.” She says hysterically, and Lydia can't tell if she's laughing or crying. 

“Yeah, yeah. Are you okay?” Lydia asks, already slipping on her converse. 

“Yes. I'll tell you everything; just meet me as soon as you can. I'm driving right now so I'll see you there. Love you.” She tells her, and Lydia says it back. 

Now she's terrified. What the hell happened? She was so vague about it all; it could be anything. It's raining tonight - did she get in a car wreck? Did she break her leg? Are her parents getting a divorce? Did she act on an impulse and dye her whole head pink? There were so many possibilities. 

So Lydia got in her car, and got to the diner as fast as she could. 

She went inside soaking wet, and Allison was grinning at her from their usual booth. 

“Jesus, Allison, you scared me to death.” Lydia breathed out, now realizing it wasn't serious. Allison’s hair was dripping too, and she was smiling uncontrollably. “Tell me what's going on. I've been dying.”

“Okay.” Allison sighs, smiling so hard that her dimples are showing. “I was at work, and I was just feeding the cats because it was quiet and no one had been in for hours. And then, as I was about to close up, I heard a knock on the door. Guess who it was.”

“Hmm. Your fairy godmother coming to grant you a wish?” Lydia asked, narrowing her eyes and putting her finger on her chin. 

“Scott McCall.” She bit her lip, and covered her face. 

“What?! No way! Tell me everything right now.” Lydia gasped, and crossed her legs on the seat. She leaned forward, now grinning ear-to-ear too.

“Okay, so I was freaking out internally, but he was so upset that he didn’t even notice, thank god. I mean...It’s not good that he was upset, but it made me feel better that he didn’t notice how nervous I was. Anyway, he had hit a dog. He couldn’t see it because of the rain, and he accidentally ran into it with his mom's car. So I invited him in, and he carried it into the back room. He was crying, Lydia. He kept having to use his inhaler, too; he was having an asthma attack.” She pushes her lips together, smiling. “He's not what I thought he was. He's so... _ sensitive.  _ He was crying. It was adorable.”

“This is so good. Keep going.” Lydia insisted, smiling just as big as Allison now. 

“Right. So he brought the dog back, and it just had a hurt leg. So I told him I would give it some painkillers, and he finally calmed down. He looked at me and smiled at me multiple times.” She smiled, shaking her head. “I thought I liked him before, but that was nothing compared to this. I thought...I thought that since he hung out with Stiles and Jackson, that he must be some big and tough macho man. But he’s not like that. He kept apologizing over and over again; it was so cute.”

“This is so amazing.” Lydia sighs, and Allison is so happy and giddy that it seems like she’s actually glowing from it.

“I know. He was so nice, Lydia. So, so nice.” She told her, looking up at the ceiling like she was remembering it all over again. “I almost asked him out. I was so close, but I just...couldn’t. I’m an idiot.”

“No, you aren’t. Besides, this is like, a gateway to it anyway. Now you can talk to him in class and stuff. Before long you two will be going on a date.” Lydia assured her, but felt a little sad about all of this. She was so, so happy for Allison, but she was a little jealous. Allison has only liked Scott for a week, and they’re already way closer than Lydia and Stiles are to dating, and she’s liked Stiles since third grade. She’s really just frustrated with herself since she’s too chicken to do anything about it. 

“I hope so. I also hope he talks to me tomorrow. I don’t know, Lydia, I just feel like this could be big for us.” Allison smiles, and brushes her hair behind her ear. 

“‘Us’?” Lydia asks, forcing a smile. 

“Yes,  _ us. _ ” Allison laughed, finally taking a bite of her ice cream. She pushed it towards Lydia after that, signalling that they could share it. “If I date Scott, isn’t it inevitable that you and Stiles date, too? Or at least get close? I mean, both of your best friends will be dating each other.”

“Hmm, that sounds nice,” Lydia grins, realizing she somehow forgot how good of a friend Allison is. “Us double dating with the hottest guys in Beacon Hills.”

“Can you believe this? Oh my God. I know we’re getting ahead of ourselves, but he was so sweet, Lydia. I can’t wait for tomorrow. I really think he’ll talk to me. We have three classes together, too.” She breathes in, almost overwhelmed by it. 

“This is so exciting.” Lydia laughs, and shakes her head with disbelief. “Let’s go. I want you to stay over tonight, okay? I want to wear something nice tomorrow and you have to help me pick it out.”

“That sounds great.” Allison nods, and they both get up from their seats and leave. 

“See you in a few!” Lydia yells across the parking lot, as they both get in their separate cars. 

“Okay.” Allison waves, and they both head to Lydia’s house. 

She was terrified for tomorrow. It was exciting though, too, because every day for years her and Allison have been doing the same thing. Now it’s all about to change. She had a feeling. 


	5. Lost

“This? Are you sure?” Lydia makes a face in the mirror, looking at her outfit. 

“You don't have to wear it, Lydia. Seriously; you're beautiful the way you are. Just remember that  _ you  _ asked  _ me _ to help you.” Allison shrugs, and throws on a top. 

“These clothes look good on you. It just makes me look I'm trying way too hard.” Lydia groans, and kicks her feet in the air aimlessly. “I just don't feel comfortable. Besides, I don't want him to notice me when I'm not... _ me.  _ Then he won't want me when I'm  _ really _ me.” 

“Um...I think I know what you mean.” Allison laughs, narrowing her eyes. “But that's fine, Lydia. Seriously. I've never known you to dress up for a boy, so don't start now if you don't want to.”

“Okay.” Lydia exhales, and strips her clothes off. Well, Allison's clothes that  _ she’s  _ wearing. “I at least want to wear  _ my  _ best clothes. Will you help me?”

“Of course.” Allison laughs, digging through Lydia’s drawers. “ _ Not  _ the red pants.  _ Not  _ the khakis. How about these?”

She pulls out a pair of black, high-waisted shorts. 

“No. My legs are ugly. Do you remember when you made me buy those that one time? I've never even worn them.” Lydia laughs, scratching the back of her neck. 

“I'm not taking no for an answer, especially since you're saying it because you think your legs are ugly. Now put it on.” Allison demands, crossing her arms. 

“Fine.” Lydia rolls her eyes, grabbing the shorts. 

Then, as she slips them on, Allison goes through her drawers. A few seconds later she throws a pile of clothes at her. 

“Push-up bra, white tank top, and a red and black unbuttoned plaid shirt. Oh, and let me get your converse.” She says excitedly, and grins. 

“This is an undershirt!” Lydia groans, looking at the tank top. She switches her bra, and puts it on anyway. Then she slides the plaid shirt over her arms, and slips on the black and white high-top converse. She stands up, and looks in the mirror. 

“My boobs are actually hanging out.” Lydia whines, tilting her head sideways to get a better look.

“Lydia. That is so cute.” Allison's’ mouth drops open. “And a little cleavage doesn't mean your boobs are hanging out.”

“I know, but…” Lydia sighs, biting her lip and smiling. 

“These are all  _ your  _ clothes.” Allison whines, and gets behind her in the mirror. “Please, Lydia? You look so beautiful.”

“Fine. Fine, fine, fine.” Lydia laughed, shaking her head. 

“Yes!” Allison grins, throwing her arms around her happily. “Now grab your backpack. Let's go.”

“Are you sure I don't look ridiculous?” Lydia asks, looking over at Allison in the passenger seat as she parked her car at school. 

“You don't, I promise.” Allison laughs, shaking her head. “And don’t frown, Lydia. Someone could be falling in love with your smile.”

“Hopefully it's Stiles.” Lydia laughs, breathing in deeply. “I feel like I'm willingly walking into my death.”

“Everything will be perfect.” Allison laughs, and opens the passenger side door. “Let's do this.”

They hooked arms as they walked to the entrance of the school, and went inside. Lydia discreetly looked around for Stiles, but he was nowhere in sight. 

Even when they got in class, and the door shut, he was still nowhere to be found. His seat was empty. In every class. 

“This is unfair. The one day I dress up he isn't even here to see it.” Lydia rolls her eyes, trading her biology book out for her English one, and then shutting her locker. 

“We’ll find another cute outfit for tomorrow, okay?” Allison smiled. She hasn't stopped smiling. 

Scott had smiled and waved at her in their first class, and then sat next to her in another. She was over the moon. 

“Ask him out, Allison. Seriously.” Lydia smiled, looking at her. 

“I know, but it's so scary. What if he just wants to be friends and I've totally misread the signals?” She asks, chewing anxiously on her lip. 

“Then just say that's fine; you just wanted to see where it went, but being friends is perfectly fine with you.” Lydia laughs, shrugging her shoulders. 

“But that's  _ not _ fine.” Allison whined, looking sad at the thought. 

“I don't actually think that will happen.” Lydia grins, and knocked her arm against hers. “Just always have a backup plan. I think he'll say yes.”

“Okay. There's only one class left until school’s out for the day, so I'll ask him out in there.” She breathes in, smiling. 

“Good luck!” Lydia laughs as the bell rings, and they go their separate ways. 

Lydia's rifling through her folder to find an assignment she needed to turn in as she walks into the classroom. The class went completely silent. She looked up, and her face instantly flushed red. The classroom is full, and Stiles Stilinski, along with everyone else, is looking right at her. 

“Um...is this not Mrs. Carter’s class?” She asked quietly, practically choking on her own words. 

“She told me that she sent an email to her English class saying they were meeting in the computer lab today, and that we could use this classroom for my class this period. Did you not check your email, Miss Martin?” Mr. Hench said, crossing his arms. 

“Oh yeah!” Lydia laughed, even though she had no idea what he was talking about. She started walking backwards awkwardly, and then she hit the wall. 

“Totally forgot.” She laughed, reaching blindly behind her trying to find the doorknob. She got a quick glimpse of Stiles, who had a pencil shoved behind his ear, and his hair is messy like always. “Um…” She stutters, shaking her head. He was looking down at his paper, and then his eyes glance up at her from under his eyelashes. He had a slight smile on his face. 

“Jesus Christ. Okay, bye.” She told them, turning around and almost slipping because she ran out so fast. “Have a good day Mr. Hench!” She yelled, already halfway down the hall. 

She stayed calm, until she finally made it into the closest janitor's closet. She pulled her plaid shirt off, bunched it up in her hands, and screamed into it. 

She groaned really loudly, and then laid down on the ground. It was dark in the room, and she just sat there looking at nothing and thinking about how humiliated she was. Her breath was heavy still from running, and she was too in shock to even cry. So she laughed. A lot. While lying down on the floor in a janitor's closet. 

Trying not to think about it, she pulled her phone out to preoccupy herself. She decided it was pretty much too late to go to class anyway, so she’ll just email her assignment and claim she got sick. 

Finally, the bell rang. She slipped out and tried to blend in with everyone. She got a few weird looks from people who noticed her coming from the closet, but she just ignored it and walked to her locker. 

She tapped her foot incessantly, and waited impatiently for Allison to get there. 

“Lydia.” Allison ran up to her out of nowhere, gulping and breathing heavily. 

“I have something to tell you.” They both said in unison, serious as ever.

“You go first.” Lydia smiles, already pretty sure what she's about to hear. 

“I asked him out. I did it.” She grinned, pressing her back against her locker, laughing. 

“God, how'd it go? Tell me everything. Literally every single detail.” Lydia smiles, practically jumping up and down. 

“We were just sitting there talking, and I just...asked him. It just slipped out I guess. He smiled so big. He looked nervous.  _ He  _ was nervous. Then he nodded, and said ‘definitely yes’. I just...I couldn't believe it. I was smiling like a total idiot.” She laughs, covering her face.

“That's so amazing. What are you guys gonna do?” Lydia asks, biting her lip with anticipation. 

“Bowling Friday night.” She answers, looking down at her feet; still smiling. She hasn't stopped once. 

“I'm so happy for you, what the hell! That's so great.” Lydia admits, squeezing Allison's hands. 

“Okay, now with your story. Did something happen with-” She looks around, making sure Stiles wasn't in earshot, and then lowered her voice to a whisper. “Stiles?”

“Um...kinda.” Lydia blushes just remembering, and groans. Allisons mouth drops and she smiles.

“Tell me!” She insists, pushing Lydia’s shoulder playfully. 

“It's not...good.” Lydia complains, and shakes her head.

She went on to explain how she went into the wrong classroom full of people, and Stiles was laughing at her. 

“He looked so hot, and he was making fun of me. Like, actually laughing.” She groaned, covering her face with embarrassment. “I'm not exaggerating either, because you know I do that sometimes. But this time he was actually laughing at me. So I ran into the janitor's closet, waited until the bell rang, and now here I am.”

“Well…” Allison bit her lip, shrugging her shoulders. “He's a jerk.”

“No, he's not. He's not.” She sighs, and tucks her hair behind her ear. “I mean...if he had been the one to walk in, I probably would have laughed too.”

“I guess.” Allison shrugs, shutting her locker. “If me and Scott work out, I'll investigate. Because I still can't believe Scott would be friends with him if he's really as big of a jerk as I think.” 

“Good.” Lydia laughs, already feeling better than before. They walked outside, through the parking lot, and to Lydia’s car. 

“You can't forget about me when you and Scott start dating.” Lydia sighs, unlocking her car. 

“Shut up! That will never happen.” Allison shakes her head, laughing. 

“That's what they all say.” Lydia shrugs, and backs out of her parking spot. Then she sees the blue jeep. 

“God. Even his vehicle is sexy.” She sighs, as Allison's applying lip gloss in the mirror. 

“What?” 

“Huh?” Lydia laughs awkwardly, furrowing her eyebrows. “I didn't say anything. That lip gloss looks good on you.”

“I heard what you said, Lydia,” Allison laughs, reaching up and turning the air on. 

“Shit.” Lydia replies under her breath. “Actually, you know what? I'm glad I walked in the wrong classroom today. It's actually, in a weird way, kind of calming knowing that I'll never be able to be that embarrassed ever again. I feel...relaxed.” 

“He's probably already forgotten by now, Lydia. You should too.” Allison insisted, knocking her arm against Lydia’s as they stop at a stoplight. 

“Let's hope he has.”


	6. Lost Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to add the factor of how gender can alter people's personality traits, and how they would say/do things differently because of it. Let me know how you all like it :)

“Please don't leave me. I'm so bored.” Lydia complains, pulling on Allison’s shirt while she was trying to get out of bed.

“I have to.” Allison laughs, stretching. “Go to the diner and study or something. I have to study at work, and I know if you're just sitting here by yourself you won't do it.”

“Ugh, but if you stay we can just… _not_ study. And we can watch movies.” Lydia gives a small smile, and Allison rolls her eyes.

“We’ll watch movies after. Go to the diner and study.” Allison demands, and walks went out the door.

“Ugh.” Lydia groans, and falls dramatically back on her bed. She sit there and listens to Allison’s car pulling out of the driveway. Finally, after sitting there for probably fifteen minutes, she grabs her backpack, and heads downstairs. She gets in her car, and drives to the diner. She really does need to get her homework done.

She orders two pretzels and a Coke, and her mountains of homework were all piled on the table in front of her. She pulls her legs onto the seat, and crosses them.

“You're the lost girl, right?” Someone says, and Lydia immediately furrows her eyebrows and is ready to put up a (mediocre) verbal fight.

“Don't you think it's a little r-” She starts to say, looking up at them with mean eyes. Then the look dropped.

Stiles.

“A little...what?” He asks, narrowing his eyes and giving his signature smirk.

“Ohhhh. Um." She laughs, accidentally knocking a ketchup bottle over. She quickly picks it up, and then looks at him. She clears her throat. "A little rude of you. I guess.” She gulps, and looks back down at her paper. “That was really, uh, embarrassing. I really hadn't looked at the email, and I'm...pretty sure he knew that. I was humiliated. I _am_ humiliated.”

“Nah, it was funny. Mr. Hench is a dick.” He shrugs, and she takes a huge breath, scanning her eyes over her paper but not actually reading it. She taps her thumb against the table over and over again.

“I guess.” She huffs, and glances up at him for a second. His arms are crossed, and he's still looking at her. She looks away quickly. Why the hell is he talking to her?

“Still trying to find a new place to study? Why didn't the lacrosse field work out for you?” He asks, still hounding her. He knew good and well why it didn't work out; he just wants her to admit it out loud. He's such a dick.

“Um...Multiple reasons.” She admits, chewing on her lip. Maybe he really is as bad as Allison thinks. She still can't believe he noticed her and remembered, though. The thought of that alone made her heart pound. And he's still hot enough to make her choke on her own words.

“Well name them off. Maybe I can find a way to help.” He offers, putting his hand to his heart; feigning care.

“Just…it was too loud.” She shrugs, trying to sound convincing. “You know, with the grunting and loud noises of boys playing their sports. Not the first place you want to be while doing homework, you know?”

“Nothing else?” He asks, tilting his head to the side. “I'm sure you can think of another reason. Were there any more...distractions?”

“Okay, I know you're just being an ass and I don't know why, so can you just move out of the way? My food’s coming any second.” She looks at him, but he keeps that smug smile on his face.

“ _I'm_ rude? I was just trying to be a good employee and engage in a healthy and helpful conversation with my customer.” He pretends his feelings are hurt, turns around for a second, and then pulls out two pretzels, and a Coke from the table behind him.

“Oh, no.” She sighs under her breath, and rolls her eyes.

“Here's your order.” He smiles, and sets it down on the table in front of her.

“Since when do you work here? I come here, like, every day and I've never seen you working.” She narrows her eyes with suspicion, and puts a straw in her drink. She can’t believe she’s having an actual conversation with him. It’s surreal.

“Actually, I don't. I just saw them bringing your order, and just wanted to see if you were the infamous lost and confused girl I saw today. So I claimed I was with you, and grabbed it from the waiter.” He shrugs, and crosses his arms. She tries to ignore how the veins in his arms strained against his shirt. She was about to die.

“Thank you.” She gives an obviously fake smile, even though she's actually having a heart attack.

“No problem. Anything else?” He smiles, holding his head high. He runs his hand through his damp hair, and that sent a whiff of air toward her. He smells so good, that she can't even _think_ straight. It's driving her insane.

“Hooooly shit,” She whispers quietly under her breath, rubbing her forehead, before smiling and looking up at him. “Um no thanks. I’m good.”

“Great.” He shoves his hands in his pockets, and turns to leave. Her eyes widen and she lets out a long breath she had been holding. Then he turns back around, and she pretends like she had only been looking at her paper. “What’s your name?”

“Um, Lydia.” She blushes, chewing on her pencil.

“Okay, Lydia. I hope you can study in peace here. Maybe there won't be any more distractions.” He winks, and she blushes and clears her throat.

“You know,” She speaks up, as he starts walking away again. He stops, and turns around. Her voice cracks a little, which is embarrassing, because he knows he has that effect on girls. It's annoying. “We’ve gone to school together our whole lives, and you're just now learning my name. You're kind of disproving your point of not being a jerk.”

“I've seen you around. I think I remember that red hair.” He twirls his fingers around it, and she slaps his hand away. “Maybe I am a jerk. But I know _you've_ noticed _me_.”

“Barely.” She rolls her eyes, lying straight through her teeth. “And I prefer strawberry-blonde, by the way.”

“Fine.” He laughs, throwing his hands in the air in surrender. Her breathing catches when she watches him. She hates it, but he's just _so freaking_ beautiful. Her mouth is completely dry. “I think I remember that _strawberry-blonde_ hair.”

“Better.” She smiles stupidly, looking at him like a complete idiot. Then she realized, cleared her throat, and wiped the smile from her face. “Anyway. Anything else?”

“Yeah, actually.” He smiles, and leans in closer to her, whispering. “I know you want me.”

“What? Me?” She scoffs, blushing and laughing awkwardly. “I do not. I don't even...what does that even mean?”

“Why are you blushing, Lydia?” He asks, forcing her to hide her face with embarrassment. 

Now that he's learned her name, he won't stop using it. She's never really cared much for her name, but it sounds like heaven coming out of his mouth.

She composes herself as quickly as she can, and gulps.

“Because it's funny to me how you think every girl wants you when, in fact, they don't. And don't you have a girlfriend?” She narrows her eyes, pursing her lips.

“Hey,” he laughs, shrugging his shoulders and putting his hands up. “I'm just saying. I saw you watching me the other day.”

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes, bites into her pretzel, and looks down at her homework again.

“See? Can't even deny it.” He gives an exaggerated sigh, crossing his arms again.

“I'm not gonna explain anything to you.” She answers calmly, rifling through her papers.

“Fine.” He laughs, shrugging. “Your silence just gives me confirmation.”

“You’re not getting to me.” She gulps, tapping her pencil against the table. “And why are you talking to me anyway? Eight years of ignoring me seemed to work out just nicely for you.”

“I have my reasons.” He says, giving another smug smile. She had butterflies in her stomach. “I'll see you around, Lydia.”

“See you, Stilinski.” She gives a small wave, and looks down at her papers once again. As soon as the bell jingles signalling he left, her shoulders slump back against the seat, and she grins bigger than she ever has before. He’s a jerk, but she’s more in love than she’s ever been and she doesn’t know why.


	7. Lunch

"Like…I mean, I don't know. I'm not sure. He was being flirty and cocky but he's like that with every girl. He just thinks everyone is in love with him or something, so when they're not, he has to make them be." Lydia rolls her eyes, but still can't help the smile on her face.

"Yeah, but you _are_ in love with him." Allison pokes, showing her dimples as she chews on a pink and blue gummy worm.

"Okay, but _he_ doesn't know that. And I plan on him never finding out, thank you very much." Lydia laughs, tilting her head back and shoving a handful of candy in her mouth. Then she sighs, and falls back on Allison's bed. "God, he's just...so beautiful."

"I'm proud of you, you know." Allison nudges her arm, grinning. "I was sure that the first time you two had a real conversation, you would have a stroke or something. Good job."

"Trust me, I did too. I almost passed out, like, ten times." Lydia groans, and squeezes her eyes shut.

"It was cool though, right? To know that he _wanted_ you to be watching him play lacrosse? Now you know for sure he was doing all of that for you. That's exciting." Allison raises an eyebrow, and Lydia covers her face with her hands and grins.

"He would do that to anyone. He thrives on the idea that everyone wants him." Lydia rolls her eyes, but she's still over the moon.

"It's so cute that he was flirting with you, though." Allison sighs, and falls on the bed next to Lydia. "I can't believe cool stuff is finally happening to us."

"It doesn't seem real." Lydia admits, looking up at the ceiling.

"I know." Allison replied, and they both smiled like complete idiots.

The next day, neither of them know what to expect as they walk into school. Allison, of course, is nervous and excited because she gets to see Scott.

Lydia, on the other hand, wants to die. And she states that multiple times.

"I want to die." Lydia groans, not being able to keep her eyes from constantly glancing up at the door, waiting for Stiles to enter.

"What do you think could possibly happen?" Allison laughs, scribbling on her paper.

"I have no idea, that's my entire point! He's so unpredictable. It stresses me the hell out." Lydia runs her fingers through her tangled hair, before finally giving up.

"Unpredictable is good. It would be boring if he wasn't." Allison insists, and digs a brush from her backpack, and gently pulls on the tangled hair with it.

"I guess." Lydia rolls her eyes, knowing she's right. Allison tugs on the hair until the knot is finally out, and Lydia makes a pained face. "Thanks for killing me."

Allison laughs, and shoves her brush back into her backpack.

"Here he comes." Allison whispers, covering her hand over her mouth and flipping through her book trying not to look suspicious.

"Oh, God, what do I do with my body?!" Lydia mutters, moving around in her seat awkwardly, trying to find a normal-looking position. She ends up looking a lot more suspicious than normal.

There's no point to anyone of it though, because he doesn't even acknowledge her. Not a wave, not a smile, not even a _glance_ , before he plops down in his seat, and the bell rings.

"He probably didn't see you." Allison assures her quietly, and Lydia nods and stares at her paper. She's annoyed, and although she doesn't want to admit it, a little upset.

"It doesn't matter." She answers, chewing on her lip and doodling on her paper.

She sees him again in the her third period class, but still nothing. He pretends she doesn't exist, like every other day. She wonders if she had just dreamed about the diner conversation.

"I know I'm going to make a complete idiot of myself on Friday. I don't even have an outfit picked out. I just...I can't go out with Scott. I have to cancel." Allison complains, biting her lip.

"No, you're not cancelling, okay? You can't just cancel your entire life. We'll figure it out." Lydia assures her, getting her food together on her tray.

"Figure what out?" Stiles asks, sitting down next to Allison.

"I, uh, just...homework." Allison blurts out nervously, trying to think of something on the spot.

"Yeah." Lydia adds dumbly, and then squeezes her eyes shut.

Stiles gives them both a weird look, and then turns to look at his food.

"Why is he sitting with us?" Lydia leans in, and whispers to Allison. Allison just shrugs her shoulders and gives a confused look that matches Lydia's.

Then Scott approaches to Allison's left, and smiles sweetly at her. She scoots over and lets him take the chair beside her.

"Thanks." He says softly, smiling as he sat down. They are really cute together Lydia decided.

Then Jackson sits down next to Lydia on her left, and Danny sits down on her right. Her eyes widen and she uses her fork to stab at her food.

"Hey, Lydia. It's nice to finally meet you." Scott smiles, and nods his head toward her. He seems nervous being next to Allison.

"Hey, Scott. You too." Lydia laughs awkwardly, and then...it happens.

"Get up." Ashley walks up, and Stiles sits up straighter as he hears her voice. She's standing over the girl at the end of the table, waiting. The girl scrambles out of her seat, and Ashley smiles and sits down. She leans in and kisses Stiles, which makes Lydia roll her eyes.

"So where are we going Friday night? You said you and Allison were hanging out this weekend, right?" Stiles asks, leaning over the table to look at Scott after he pulls away from Ashley.

"Um," Allison says, looking at Stiles. "We were thinking about going bowling. Maybe."

"Great." Ashley spoke up, smiling. "The four of us bowling on Friday."

Lydia angrily shoves her curly fries in her mouth imagining it all.

"Hanging out? Like, the four of us? Do you wanna hang out, like us and them?" Scott asks quietly, and Lydia quickly realizes that he didn't like being around them much either.

"Yeah, I guess. Sounds fun." Allison replies, not seeing what Lydia sees. He doesn't _want_ them to go, but Allison doesn't want to hurt his feelings by saying that she didn't want them too, either. It's all confusing.

"Hey, Lydia." Jackson puts his arm around her, and leans in closer. "How about you and I go out this weekend?"

"How about hell no." Lydia plucks his arm off of her shoulder, and Stiles spits some of his water out. He must have been watching them, Lydia quickly realized.

"Oh, come on. Don't play hard to get." He nuzzles his nose against her cheek, and she pushes him off again.

"I'm not playing, actually." Lydia assures him, and shoves more curly fries in her mouth.

"Like you could do better eating like that…" Ashley says under her breath, moving her fork around her food.

"What the hell was that?" Lydia narrows her eyes, waiting for Ashley to repeat herself.

"Oh, nothing." Ashley smiles, and shakes her head. Allison and Scott are in their own little world so they hadn't heard. Stiles just keeps his head hung low, and runs his fingers through his messy, gelled hair. All of these people are bullies.

"Now that I've seen you naked I can't get you out of my head." Jackson insists, clenching his strong jaw and smiling. He really is beautiful. Horrible, but beautiful. "Just think about it, okay?"

"You did _not_ see me naked." Lydia points her fork at him, which actually seems to amuse him. Stiles' eyes snap up to them as he hears that.

"I saw enough." Jackson shrugs, giving a smug smile, and letting his eyes roam her body.

"Being a sexual harasser is not helping you win your case, alright?" Lydia crosses her arms over her chest, and turns away from him.

"Jackson stop it." Scott insists from across the table, finally hearing the conversation.

"I was just trying to be nice." Jackson huffs, and rolls his eyes. "But whatever. Didn't realize she was so uptight."

"Dude just leave her alone." Stiles tells him, and Ashley shoots him daggers. He glances at Lydia for half of a second, and then looks down at his food.

The only reason he spoke up about it is because Scott did first. She knows that.

Lydia is blushing but trying not to show it, because all of the attention is on her now.

"Um, I'm gonna...get to class early." Lydia laughs awkwardly, and throws her leg over the bench. She falls, though, of course, on the floor. Ashley covers her mouth, not trying very hard to hide her laughter as Lydia scrambles on the floor, trying to get up.

"Lydia." Allison suddenly grabs her hand, and pulls her up. "Let's go. Bye Scott." Allison smiles at him, and then they both rushed out of the cafeteria. Lydia doesn't even dare to look at Stiles on the way out.

"Christ." Lydia covers her face, as Allison pulls on the light switch in the janitor's closet.

"It's okay." Allison assures her, sitting down next to her. "They're all jerks. Seriously."

"Yeah, but Scott isn't. And I probably just ruined your chances with him by looking like a complete idiot." She sighs, picking at a loose thread on her jeans.

"No, you didn't. And if that ruins my chances with him, he's a huge jerk anyway, so I don't care." Allison's squeezes Lydia's arm, and holds her head up high.

"Thanks, Allison." Lydia smiles, and lays her head on Allison's shoulder.

"Hey, did you see how Stiles defended you? That was cute." Allison squeezes Lydia's arm, trying to be optimistic.

"He only did that to make himself look good. If Scott wouldn't have said it first Stiles wouldn't have even cared." Lydia rolls her eyes, and pinches the bridge of her nose. "It's whatever. Who cares."

" _I_ care. I want you to be happy." Allison tells her, and then the bell rings.

"I'm fine. Seriously. I'll...cry myself to sleep, and then I'll be good." Lydia jokes with a laugh, as they stand up.

"Promise you're okay?" Allison asks, not seeming amused by it.

"Promise." Lydia nods, and smiles.

"Okay. See you in Econ." Allison tells her, looking at her like she doesn't want her to leave her at all.

"See ya." Lydia smiles, trying to convince her she's fine. She opens the closet and walks out first. She takes a deep breath, and walks to class. Maybe the rest of the day won't be as bad.


	8. Parking Lot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad you're all liking it so far! Thank you for the thoughtful reviews :)

“Are you sure he even saw you?” Allison asks, grabbing her books from her locker. 

“He literally made eye contact with me. So unless he temporarily lost his eyesight, then yeah, I’m pretty sure he saw me.” Lydia puts her head on the locker beside Allison’s, and sighs. They had just gotten out of their last class, and like always, met up at their lockers. “He really is a jerk. I guess all of these years I just…had a false version of him in my mind.”

“He probably feels horrible. Seriously. I’m sure he’ll apologize any time now.” Allison assures her, smiling. 

“I just figured after he was finally away from his bully friend and bully girlfriend he’d...I don’t know, say  _ something _ . He would still be an asshole, but still. Less of one.” She shrugs and sighs.

“I think he will. Just give it some time, is all.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lydia laughs, gently banging her head on the locker. “Let's go. I'm hungry.”

“Okay. I have to use the bathroom - I'll meet you at the car in a few minutes.” Allison says, and they say their goodbyes. 

Lydia shoves her hand in her backpack, finding her keys as she walks through the parking lot to her car. Finally she makes it, and sticks the key in to unlock it. 

“Lydia!” She hears a voice, and she swings around so fast that she hits her nose on the truck next to hers mirror. 

“Oh shit.” She whimpers, holding her nose. But the voice, though, she immediately recognizes as Stiles’. 

“Hey. I'm glad I caught you before you left.” Stiles laughs behind her, and she pushes her lips together one last time, before removing her hand from her nose and turning around. 

“Oh yeah?” She asks, trying to ignore the horrible pain. She flips the key ring around her finger in an attempt to look cool, but, of course, it flew off of her finger and onto the ground with a clank.

“Yeah,” he laughs, scratching the back of his neck. He looks down at the concrete, and then up to her. “Do you have something to say to me?”

“Like...what?” She asks, actually confused now. It temporarily distracts her from the pain in her nose. Temporarily. 

“Um...a thank you maybe?” He laughs, narrowing his eyes like he can’t believe she forgot. 

“A thank you for what?” She asks, crossing her arms. It’s hard to focus when she has to look in his beautiful, brown eyes. Or has to notice the way he slowly, gracefully licks his lips when he's frustrated. 

“For saving your ass at lunch today.” He mirrors her actions by crossing his arms. “I think I deserve a thank you.”

She sits there with her mouth open for a minute, in complete shock.

“You are such an  _ idiot _ .” She rolls her eyes, trying to push past him to get to her car. 

“What? What the hell did I do?!” He asks, blocking her way. 

“You really think you deserve a thank you for that? I was getting harassed by your friend, and you said ‘leave her alone’. And the only reason why you said that is because Scott said it first.” She accuses, and he clenches his jaw.

“I was trying to help you.” He says in a low voice, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. 

“Oh! I didn't know that, I'm sorry! Let me go grab your ‘best person in the world’ award and get on my knees to thank you.” She says dramatically, and he rolls his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, whatever. You get annoyed because I'm rude, but then I try to do something nice and apparently it's not good enough.” He says with annoyance. 

“I'm sorry, did you really expect me to thank you for that?  _ Your  _ asshole of a friend was tormenting me, and only _ after _ Scott said something you finally did. You weren't even going to until Scott did.” She throws her hands in the air with exasperation. “And God, what you did was the actual bare minimum of being a decent human being. Not even a ‘good’ or ‘great’ human being, like, actually just a ‘decent’ one. Jackson is a bully, and Scott was the only one to stand up for me. To _ really _ stand up for me.”

“This is ridiculous.” He mutters under his breath, pulling on the strap of his backpack. “I just won't say anything next time then, okay? Whatever.”

“You don't get it.” She laughs sarcastically, and shakes her head. “There's no point in even talking to you about it, because you just, like, can't even fathom the concept of someone realizing that your ‘great deeds’ aren't that great at all.” 

“Fine! I don't even know you anyway, I was just trying to do something nice.” He grits his teeth, and starts to walk away. 

“Why?” She asks, her hands shaking as he stopped walking. “Why do you care about me saying thank you all of the sudden?”

“It doesn't matter. I know what you think of me now anyway.” He looks at her, and then starts walking backward. He's so graceful with his movements; something Lydia has always wanted to achieve. He turns around, and walks to his Jeep. She sits there debating for about thirty seconds, before she changes her mind. 

“Stiles.” She runs towards him, and he rolls the window of his Jeep down, but rolls his eyes as well. 

“What.” He says flatly, and she suddenly wants to slap him across the face. 

“It was good, what you did. It really was, and I’m not ungrateful or anything, I just...you did it for the complete wrong reasons. If you’re really trying to be nice, then do it for the right reasons. Okay?” She says, biting her lip. 

“Yeah.” He rolls the window back up, not looking at her still. Then, he drives away, leaving Lydia alone in the parking lot. 

And, to top it all off, she is just now realizing her nose is bleeding. Great. 


	9. Façade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty short, but I promise the next few chapters will be better!

“You are joking. Lydia, please tell me you’re pulling one of your horrible, unfunny jokes right now.” Allison begs, looking over at Lydia who’s driving. She has toilet paper stuffed in her nose and she can hardly breathe, but it’s at least stopped some of the blood.

“Nope.” Lydia keeps her eyes on the road, even though they’re at a redlight.

“So you’re saying that...he came up to you, and wanted  _ you  _ to  _ thank  _ him for telling his friend to leave you alone? The friend who was bullying you?  _ His  _ friend?” She asks, biting her lip. 

“Exactly.” Lydia sighs, and presses the gas pedal as the light turns green. 

“God, he’s an even bigger jerk than I thought he was!” Allison exclaims, looking out the window. “I can’t believe this. And here we thought he was going to apologize to you. Wow.”

“I know.” Lydia whines, slapping at a bottle that keeps making a rattling noise. Eventually she just grabs it and throws it in the backseat out of anger. “I still am, like, stupidly in love with him, though. It’s horrible. I’m an idiot.”

“No, you can’t help it.” Allison sighs, and Lydia chews on her lip. 

“I just...as cheesy as it sounds, I know there’s more to him than this. I know he’s like, a genius, you know? And he’s so beautiful. He just covers his smartness up to stay popular or something. It’s stupid, but it’s whatever.” Lydia admits, feeling sick to her stomach. She gulps, and feels the stinging behind her eyes as she pulls into Allison’s driveway. “I’m fine, though.”

“Lydia.” Allison whispers sadly, because she knows. 

“Why does he have to be so horrible?!” Lydia finally breaks down, bawling her eyes out. “God, he really came up to me so I could thank him! And I’m the idiot who’s in love with him. Why am I so stupid?”

“You are not stupid.” Allison unbuckles her seat belt and hugs her; rubbing her back soothingly. “Stiles Stilinski doesn’t realize how amazing you are, is all. He doesn’t know how lucky he is.”

“This all just sucks.” Lydia sniffs, pulling the napkin from her nose. Then she starts crying a lot harder.

“What's wrong? What?” Allison asks, searching her face.

“God knows how long my nose was bleeding while I was talking to him.” Lydia sobs loudly, and throws her arms around Allison again. 

Finally, half an hour later, the tears stopped. 

“Let's just watch a movie so I can stop thinking about him.” Lydia insists, burying her face in a pillow.

“Okay, what do you want to watch? Your choice.” Allison pats her back, and then moves to the TV to put something in. 

“I don't care. Anything’s fine.” Lydia says in a muffled voice. 

“How's pizza for dinner?” Mr. Argent asks, stepping into Allison’s room smiling. 

“Dad.” Allison whispers with a harsh tone, and Lydia can imagine her widening her eyes at him. 

“Right. I completely forgot to knock.” He laughs, and then sees Lydia, who is sprawled across the bed, obviously upset. “Everything okay, Lydia?”

“Um, yeah.” Lydia said into the pillow, not wanting him, or anyone, to see her tear-streaked face. “I'm great, Mr. Argent. Pizza sounds amazing.”

“Great. I'll call you down when it gets here.” He says nicely, and then shuts the door quietly as he walks out.

About an hour later, they were all gathered around the table, eating. 

It’s all kind of awkward, because they all can tell that Lydia had been crying, and Lydia knows that they know she has been crying. So she eats and goes back up to Allison's room as fast as she can without being rude. 

“I don't want to go to school again tomorrow. This has been the longest week of my life.” Lydia groans, and shoves a pizza crust into her mouth. She had snuck some up with her when she made her mad dash. 

“I know. But I'll be right there with you, okay?” Allison tells her, switching the light off so they can finish their movie. 

“Thanks, Allison.” Lydia sighs, and gets under the blanket. “You were right.”

“About what?”

“I don't know why Scott is friends with him.” Lydia mutters, and Allison lets out a breath. “Scott’s good.”

“Maybe he sees something we don't, you know? I really think all of this is just a facade Stiles puts on to be in the popular crowd. Doesn't make it okay, but it at least makes it a little better, you know?” Allison says, getting under the blanket next to Lydia. “And plus, once school starts and people take you in their group, it’s hard to get out, whether you like them or not. High school is hard, especially with no friends. We can’t blame him for that.”

“I know. I just...I don’t know.” Lydia sighs, keeping her eyes glued to the TV but not really watching.

“And he stood up for you at the table. Like, really stood up for you. That must have been hard in front of the popular crowd, even if he doesn’t like them.” Allison smiles just thinking about it. “But anyway. I know Stiles isn't really as big of a jerk as he acts like he is.”

“I really, really hope you're right.” Lydia admits, pulling the blanket over her head.


	10. One Condition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, who watched tonight's episode?! So good! I so hope they end up together this season!

The next day, he not only ignores her, but also acts like he can't even stand to be in the same room as her. She cannot believe how big of a  _ baby  _ he is. Because she didn't thank him, he ignores her because he's mad. Why does she like him again?

Lunch is….awkward, to say the least. Ashley has a horrible attitude like always, but Stiles is annoyingly chipper. It's like he's trying to make sure Lydia knows that she didn't faze him yesterday. 

“So you’re still coming over after school, right?” Ashley asks, rubbing her thumb across Stiles’ lips and smiling.

“Mmm, I wouldn’t miss it,” he replies, snaking his arm around her waist and gently biting at her thumb. Then his eyes roam down her body, and he makes some gross sighing noise. “I’ve been thinking about it all week.”

Lydia rolls her eyes and shoves a whole chicken nugget in her mouth. 

Scott and Lydia, across from her, are talking to each other. Ashley and Stiles are beside them, practically humping each other in the school’s cafeteria. Jackson must have decided not to show up today, because the seat he sat in yesterday is empty. Danny is the only one left.

“Hey, Danny,” Lydia gives an awkward smile, and nods her head at him. “How...um, what’s up?”

“Currently watching my friends suck each others faces off.” He shrugs, stabbing at his salad. Then he stops for a second and looks at her. “Hey. I'm sorry about yesterday.”

“What? Why?” Lydia asks, gulping down her water and giving a weird smile.

“Jackson was being a prick to you. I know I don't know you, but I should've said something.” He looks down at his food, and she gives a real smile.

“Thanks,” Lydia sighs, and slaps a hand to his back. That earns a weird look, so she immediately removes it and clears her throat. That was the end of that exchange. It does make her feel somewhat better, though, to know someone cares about her. 

After the last class, on the way way to meet Alison at the lockers, Lydia was pulled to the side.

“Lydia.” Allison breathes out, trying to explain something.

“What? What's wrong?” Lydia asks, widening her eyes. 

“Scott just...he just invited me to come to lacrosse practice with him. He said he wanted me invite you to come too.” She grins, and Lydia’s mouth drops open. “So? What do you say?” 

“Absolutely not.” Lydia says flat out, and crosses her arms.

“Lydia, come on. You aren’t there for Stiles - you don’t even have to talk to him. You’re there for me. I’ll look like an idiot sitting there alone.” Alison puts her hands on Lydia’s shoulders, pleading. 

“But Allison-” Lydia whines, but she interrupts her. 

“I would do it for you.” She begs, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“Fine. Jesus Christ, fine.” Lydia sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “On one condition.”

“Yes. Yes, anything.” Allison bites her lip, smiling with excitement.

“You have to watch Star Wars with me.” Lydia crosses her arms, smiling. 

“I will. I promise.” Alison agrees, nodding her head. 

“Allison!” They hear a voice, and both turn to look. 

“Scott,” Allison swoons, tucking her hair behind her ear. Scott’s standing there in his lacrosse uniform, and the rest of the lacrosse players are coming behind him. Stiles glances at Lydia, and then looks away as soon as he notices her looking back. He passes her, and looks at the floor. She looks away too and rolls her eyes, even though her heart is pounding. Just because he glanced at her for half a second. 

“Hey,” Scott smiles, gripping his lacrosse stick firmer. “Hey, Lydia.”

“Hey, Scott.” Lydia nods, smiling. 

“So are you coming with Allison? To practice?” He asks Lydia, but his eyes are still on Allison. 

“Oh, uh yeah. Pretty sure Stiles will, you know...never forgive you for inviting me, but yeah I'll tag along.” She laughs awkwardly, and then shuts her eyes when she realizes how stupid that was to say. 

“I know, uh...I know how Stiles may look. I really do. He really isn't as big of a jerk as he seems, though.” Scott sighs, scratching the back of his neck. “I can't really explain, I guess.”

“Nah, it's okay.” Lydia waves him off, trying to seem careless. “It's...I can hold my own.”

“Yeah, I think it annoys him that you don't bow down to him like the rest of the school does. He’ll get over it. It's good for him.” Scott laughs, and Allison’s staring at him like he's the only person in the world. 

“Well, let's go. Don't want coach to yell at you.” Lydia laughs, and nudges Allison’s shoulder. She gets knocked out of her daydream, laughing and blushing. Lydia realizes that this is probably the way she looks around Stiles. 

“Yeah.” Scott laughs, and they all start going down the hall. Lydia's heart pounds as they exit the doors, and walk towards the lacrosse field. 

“There he is!” Someone yells, pointing at Scott. Stiles is laughing at something one of the guys just said, as he turns and looks for Scott. It was like that part in the movie where a hot person comes into the scene, and they’re laughing and smiling in slow motion, and his hair is messy and he runs his fingers through it. Lydia pulls herself together, and starts walking alongside Allison. 

“That’s my queue,” Scott laughs, “Try not to make funny of me too much.”

“You’ll do great,” Allison laughs, as Scott parts from them and jogs onto the field. “Good luck!”

Just then, as Scott runs to the field and Lydia and Allison are walking to the bleachers, Stiles sees Lydia. His smile drops, and his jaw clenches. She lets out a breath, and tries to ignore him, but it’s hard. She can feel his hateful gaze on her, and it almost makes her trip on the bleachers. 

“We can sit here.” Allison pointed to the second row of the bleachers, and Lydia bites the inside of her cheek. It was easier to watch the other day, because they were a lot farther away. Now he’ll definitely catch her if she looks at him, and she doesn’t want that.

When she sits down and looks back up, Stiles is leaning in Scott’s ear whispering something, and glancing up at Lydia every so often.

“Why is...Stiles looking over here like that?” Allison whispers to Lydia, furrowing her eyebrows with confusion. 

“Because he hates my guts.” Lydia rolled her eyes, sighing. “I don’t care. He’s just trying to get a rise out of me.”

“Sorry.” Allison rubs her back, and lays her head on her shoulder. Now, instead of him not knowing who she is at all, he hates her. Great.

“It’s fine. He isn’t who I thought he was, I guess.” She cracks open her textbook, and pretends to study. She just wants to focus on anything but him. 

Eventually, after they get comfortable, Lydia lays back and props her feet up on the pole that divides them and the field. She folds her hands and lays her head on them, basking in the hot sun trying to get a tan. 

“Your fair skin is going to burn, not tan.” Alison laughs, and Lydia groans. 

“I know. But there's nothing else to do, and I don't want to give Stiles the satisfaction of me watching him play.” Lydia admits, throwing an arm over her face. Allison doesn’t answer. 

“Being ignored is actually, you know, really cool. God, it's hot out here.” Lydia laughs, peeking her eyes open, and using her arm as a shield from the sunlight. 

“Give me the satisfaction, huh?” Stiles asks, breathing heavily as he uses both hands to twist his lacrosse stick into the ground. He uses the back of one of his hands to wipe the sweat from his forehead. His expression is unreadable. 

Scott is there beside him, and apparently it’s their break. Allison and Scott just sit there awkwardly, not sure what to say. 

Lydia, speechless, lets out a long breath and blushes. 

“I can't imagine the things you might say when I'm not around.” He tilts his head slightly, and narrows his eyes. 

“I didn't...I didn't know you were right there.” She mutters, barely loud enough for them to hear. 

“I don’t care. Doesn't bother me,” he shrugs, but the way he’s gripping the lacrosse stick says something his mouth isn’t.

“ _ You  _ are the one who approached me in the diner, wanting me to admit that I was attracted to you or something. This time I didn’t want to even be accused of it, so you can’t blame me for what I said.” She replies, laying back again. Her heartbeat is so loud in her ears, that she feels like everyone in a five mile radius can hear it pounding. 

“Um, me and Scott are gonna go grab a drink from the vending machines. We’ll be right back.” Allison announces. Lydia wants to beg her not to go, but she doesn’t want to give away how truly panicked she is. 

“Actually,” Stiles replies to Lydia, barely even realizing Allison had just said anything. “I’m pretty sure it’s because you didn’t want to get caught watching me again.”

“You really are full of yourself, aren’t you? Wow.” She laughs, shaking her head. 

“I’m not, I just know you want me.” He shrugs, and she fights the painful urge to look down at his chest, and his happy trail, and his-

“If I wanted a jerk, I would have said yes to Jackson.” She retorts, her voice clear and low. 

She expected him to lash back with a rude comment, but he didn’t. His face changed. He gulped, and stepped backwards. He looked...upset. Which was weird, because she’s never seen him look like that.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” She says quietly, and he shakes his head, clears his throat, and laughs. 

“No, I...I deserved it.” He scratches his head, and slowly backs up. Then he points his thumb over his shoulder. “I should get back.”

“Stiles,” She calls out, but he’s already turned around and walking away. Now he really  _ hates  _ her.


	11. Bleachers

“He actually hates me. I can’t believe this.” Lydia groans to Allison, who is buzzing around her room trying to find an outfit for her date tomorrow. 

“No he doesn’t.” Allison assures her, pulling a glittery shirt from her closet. “He deserved it. He can insult you however he wants, but then he gets upset and you have to apologize when you fire back? I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, I guess so. It just sucks. You should have seen his face.” She complains, and shakes her head. “But it’s whatever. Let’s talk about you. Found anything yet?”

“I was thinking this top,” Allison holds one out, smiling. “And this skirt. With my black sandals.”

“That would be super cute. Although you would still look cute even if you wore a trash bag.” Lydia laughs, watching Allison examine her outfit.

“Shut up.” Allison laughs, rolling her eyes. “I so wish it was you coming instead of Ashley.”

“I can’t believe she’s dating Stiles. I wonder if he’s nice to her, or if he’s a dick to her like he is to everyone else.” Lydia says, turning to lay on her back so she can stare at the ceiling, and try to imagine what it’s like dating Stiles Stilinski.

“Probably a jerk.” Allison replies, plopping down on the bed next to Lydia. “I’ll try to get some inside info while we’re double dating with them. Just for you.” Allison grins, showing off her signature dimples.

“The greatest friend anyone could ask for.” Lydia laughs, but she feels a wave of despair wash over her. She doesn’t know why she still has feelings for him after all of this. “Don’t forget that you owe me a Star Wars marathon.”

“How could I forget? Definitely this weekend.” Allison nods, and slides under the blanket. 

“I’ll hold you to that.”

The next morning they ride to school together. Allison is so excited and nervous about the date, and Lydia can’t blame her. 

“I hope I don’t say anything stupid.” Allison bites her lip nervously, gripping the strap of her purse as they lean against their lockers. 

“You won’t. You always know what to say.” Lydia assures her, smiling. 

“I hope so.” Allison replies, smiling back. Lydia’s pretty sure that Allison hasn’t stopped smiling once since Scott said yes.

“Here we go.” Lydia mutters, watching Stiles and Ashley walk in, with his arm snaked around her waist. He's laughing and talking to her with a backwards baseball cap on, a t-shirt, shorts, and Nike sneakers. He just  _ looks  _ like a douchebag. 

“God, he even looks like a jerk.” Allison says aloud, voicing Lydia’s exact thoughts. 

“I know.” Lydia groans, catching his eye for a split second. He looks away quickly, and they continue walking until they get to his locker. He kisses Ashley’s neck, and she laughs and grins while she digs through her locker. 

“Stiles, I’m trying to get my books.” She laughs, but he puts his hands on her hips, turns her around, and kisses her. His arms are tight around her waist, and the smile immediately disappears from her face. She wraps her arms around his neck, and kisses him back passionately while he presses her against the locker.

“Does this have to happen in the middle of the hallway?” Lydia groans, and instantly gets a headache. 

“He knows you're watching.” Allison whispers, shutting her locker. Just then, he slides his hand down, and squeezes her ass. She squeals and laughs, and grabs his face to kiss him harder. 

“The worst part is that I  _ know  _ I'll never have a chance, and he knows it too. The only reason he keeps messing with me is that he can't stand that I'm not falling head over heels for him. Well, I am, but he doesn't know that. He's mad that there's someone in this school that wouldn't immediately drop down on their knees and suck his d-” She gets interrupted by the bell ringing. Allison laughs, and puts her hand on her shoulder. 

“Just ignore him. It'll make him even more mad.” Allison winks at her, and they walk past Stiles and Ashley and into class. 

“Yeah, you're right.” Lydia laughs, sitting in her seat. 

She tries to take her mind off of all of it, but as soon as he walks into class, she can't focus on anything else. His hair is even messier than normal because Ashley's hands had just run through it, and he has lipstick stained on his face. He used the back of his hand to wipe it off, and then he sticks a pencil behind his ear, and slinks down in his chair.  

“Stop looking at him.” Allison whispers, nudging her arm. “It's not gonna help.”

“I know.” Lydia grumbles, rolls her eyes, and crosses her arms. 

After last class, Allison pulls Lydia to the side  _ again _ , asking if she would come to lacrosse practice today. 

She worries that this is going to start becoming a normal after-school routine. 

“So what are the plans?” Scott asks, nervously gripping his lacrosse stick as they walked towards the field. Stiles hangs back with him, but he doesn't speak for once in his life. “For tonight, I mean.”

“I was thinking we could all just meet up at the bowling alley at eight? Stiles, is that okay with you and Ashley?” Allison asks as they walk through the exit. Lydia holds the door open, and Stiles nods his head with a silent ‘thanks’. He had dark circles around his eyes.

Lydia stands in place momentarily and watches all three of them walk towards the field. She bites her lip and hesitates a second, before jogging to Stiles, and grabbing his arm. She pulls him under the bleachers like she had done with Allison the first time she was here. 

“Under the bleachers? I haven’t done this since freshmen year. I'm into it.” He jokes, but he doesn’t smile. That comment alone almost made her fall to the ground. 

“Wow. Five seconds of jogging really does some damage.” Lydia breathes heavily, clutching at her stomach and ignoring his crude comment. 

“What’s this about? I have to get to practice.” He sighs with impatience. 

“Okay, relax with the bad attitude for a second,” She huffs, and tugs at the hem of her shirt. “I just wanted to say that I’m…”

The problem with all of this, is that she was planning to apologize. But Allison was right yesterday; he was the one being the jerk, so why should  _ she  _ apologize? 

“Say what?” He asks, narrowing his eyes, waiting for his apology. 

“I wanted to say that I’m not apologizing to you. You can sulk around all you want acting like I did you wrong or something, but you’re...you’re kind of a bully. So if you act that way, you can’t expect someone not to call you out on it.” She tells him, taking a deep breath. 

“So...let me get this straight. You pulled me under the bleachers while I’m supposed to be at practice, just so you could opposite of apologize to me? Wow, a real dream come true.” He gasps mockingly, and she rolls her eyes. 

“Just...God, just stop. And you are the one that should apologize to me, you know that?” She crosses her arms and furrows her eyebrows. 

“Apologize for what?” He asks, seeming oddly amused now.

“If you don't even know why, then just forget about it. Forget about this whole conversation.” She breathes in deeply, and he laughs. Actually  _ laughs.  _ “What? What the hell is so funny?”

“Nothing.” He shrugs carelessly, and turns around, still laughing. 

“You can't…” She starts saying, and he turns around to look at her. “You can't just walk away after that. Have you  _ ever  _ seen a movie in your life?”

“No. I've never seen a movie.” He nods with sarcasm, and she closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. 

“Whatever. Why were you laughing?” She asks, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She sounds desperate to know, which she didn't want. “I mean...not that I care. I could care less, actually.”

“It's  _ couldn't  _ care less.” He replies, and she furrows her eyebrows.  

“What?” 

“If you really don't care about something, then say you  _ couldn't  _ care less. When you say ‘could care less’ that means that you could, in fact, care less. So that means you really don't not care that much.” He tells her, and she narrows her eyes. 

“I don't...God, I don't have time to learn what the hell you just said, so I'm gonna pretend like I didn't hear it. What were you laughing at?” She asks again, not caring if she sounds desperate this time. 

“You're just...really angry for such a small person.” He laughs, sizing her up. Which, as always, makes her shift uncomfortably. 

“I'm not angry. Well, I'm angry at you, but I'm not an angry person. In general.” She retorts, and he just looks at the ground and laughs. 

“Sure, Lydia.” He looks up at her, and they make eye contact for a few seconds. As hard as she tries not to, she gulps. She's pretty sure he sees, too, because he gives a small smile. “I have to go.”

“Yeah.” Lydia shakes her head, laughing uncomfortably. “Allison’s probably about to kill me.”

“So are my teammates. I'll see you later.” He nods at her, with a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “Thanks for the unapology.” 

“Any time!” She laughs awkwardly, and waves a hand at him. He laughs, and runs out to the field. 

That didn't go as well as it could have, she knows, but at least she's pretty sure he doesn't  _ actually _ hate her. She takes a deep breath, and walks out from behind the bleachers.


	12. Date Invitation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read every one of the comments I get, and I just want to state officially that I love you all! All of your comments are what really make me want to keep going with this - I love when I get to update! Anyway, I just want to say thank you :)

“I mean...he's a jerk, but he at least he kinda has a sense of humor, you know?” Allison shrugs after Lydia had just explained the reason why her and Stiles were missing for almost five minutes. “He should still apologize, though.”

“I know. I don't think he will, but I don't care. I'm just going to forget about it, you know?” She sighs, physically forcing herself not to look over at him playing lacrosse. It's hard. “It’s pointless for me to stay mad.”

“I guess.” Allison admits, chewing on her lip. “Jackson keeps staring at you.”

“What? No he isn't.” Lydia scoffs, and discreetly looks over at the field. Sure enough, there he was, glancing over at her every chance he got. She blushed and looked away, turning to Allison. 

“Why is he looking at  _ me? _ ” Lydia asks, purposely turning her body so she could try and focus on anything else. “God, I didn't even fix my hair today.”

“I think he and Stiles are both finally realizing what they're missing out on.” Allison smiles, and knocks Lydia's arm with her own. 

“I appreciate that you have like, super human sight where you can just...see things that aren't actually real, but it's getting a little out of hand lately. Please go to the optometrist.” Lydia laughs, and shakes her head. 

“Shut up.” Allison laughs too, rolling her eyes. “I think they're about to be on break.”

“Shit.” Lydia groans, pretending not to notice as Jackson and Scott walk over to them after coach blows his whistle. 

“Hey, Lydia.” Jackson breathes out, propping his arms on the horizontal pole in front of them. Scott leans into Allison, and they talk and laugh like they’re already a couple. 

“Hi, Jackson.” Lydia replies, turning her body to face him finally. It was kind of inevitable, she quickly realizes.

“So what are you doing tonight?” He asks, biting his lip. Okay, she really can't deny the fact that he's, like, extremely hot. It’s hard to remember how big of a dick he is when he’s just  _ so  _ good-looking. 

Stiles walks up then, grabbing a gatorade. Lydia can feel him staring at her and Jackson, but when she glances over at him, he looks away immediately. 

“I'm...I don't have plans, actually. I'll probably just watch a movie.” She tells him, laughing nervously. Then she clears her throat and shakes her head, trying to pull herself together. She doesn't want to go out with him. Right? It's so hard to form any thought while someone this hot is talking to her, and then another guy who she's in love with is staring at her. 

“How about I pick you up at six then?” Jackson smiles, showing his Ken doll-like teeth. He asked her out the other day at lunch, but she had honestly thought it was a joke or something. It has to be, right?

Lydia opens her mouth to talk, but she doesn't know what to say. 

“Hey, Jackson,” Stiles interrupts, clearing his throat. “Do you know if coach is making us go full time today? I have a date to get ready for.”

“I don't know, Stiles.” Jackson glares at him, clenching his jaw like he was about to kill him right there. “Ask him.”

“Did I…” Stiles looks between Jackson and Lydia, smiling. “Interrupt something?”

“No.” Lydia cut in, forcing a laugh. “I was just telling Jackson that I can't, um, go out tonight. I have like, loads of homework, so…”

“What about tomorrow?” He asks, leaning in closer to her. Stiles turns his back, and gulps down the rest of his gatorade. 

“I...can’t. Allison promised me she would finally watch...um, Star Wars.” Lydia laughs, suddenly embarrassed about it. 

“Fine.” Jackson replies, smoothing back his hair. “Next week maybe.”

“Yeah. Maybe so.” She smiles and nods, blushing and tucking her hair behind her ear. How the hell did she keep herself composed the other day talking to him? Maybe it was the ‘no shirt’ factor that really stirred the pot. 

“You look hot.” Jackson tells her, and winks once before turning around and jogging back to the middle of the field. 

“Thanks!” Lydia yells, blushing and clearing her throat. A few of the guys from the field look at her then, wondering what all of the commotions about. She waves them off awkwardly, and hides her face in embarrassment. 

“Oh wow.” Stiles scoffs, his back facing her. 

“What?” She asks, knowing he's talking to her. 

“The whole ‘maybe next week’ thing? You might as well have just told him ‘never in a million years’.” Stiles turns around, and shakes his head. 

“I really am doing homework this weekend, thank you very much.  _ And _ watching Star Wars, actually - Allison promised me she would watch them all.” She cut herself short, not wanting to tell him  _ why  _ Allison promised her that. 

“Sure.” He nods, laughing. It's obvious he doesn't believe her, which drives her up the wall. 

“You don't even know me, okay? So stay out of it.” She retorts, trying not to show how truly annoyed she is. 

“I'm just saying, you shouldn't lead him on like that is all.” Stiles replies, keeping his cool exterior. 

“What? Lead him on? There's a thing called letting someone down easy, Stiles. And trust me, girls have had to master that skill so they don't get brutally murdered by some psycho teenage guy who thinks he's entitled to have any girl he wants.” She answers him, shaking her head. “Besides, I might actually go out with him. Who knows?”

He looked at her and narrowed his eyes. 

“Why? Has your entire memory of us at the lunch table just vanished?” He asks, a puzzled expression written across his face. She isn't exactly sure why she said that at all. But, it's making him angry, so she decides to keep going. 

“It's honest to God none of your business if I go out with him or not.” She lays back and closes her eyes, soaking up the sunlight. 

“I don't care about it at all, actually, I'm just thinking about the time you, you know, compared me to him, saying I was a jerk. Which was, let me think...yesterday?” He narrows his eyes, pretending to be deep in thought over it. “Oh! And the time he was harassing you at the lunch table? That was a real romantic moment for the two of you, I’m sure.”

“Aw it really was! I'm glad you noticed!” She gave fake enthusiasm, rolling her eyes. 

“Stop being such a smart ass.” He breathes in deeply, obviously annoyed. 

“Take your own advice.” She scoffs, sitting up. “And if you know he's so bad, then why are you even friends with him anyway?” 

“You know what? I have to go.” Was all he replied, sulking the whole way through the field. 

As soon as she thinks they could be getting along again, this happens. They can’t even stand to be around each other for five minutes.


	13. Lonely

“I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I’ll let you know how it goes.” Allison smiles nervously, opening her car door.

“What? I want to hear every detail as soon as you get home tonight.” Lydia demands, crossing her arms. 

“Okay, I'll call you.” Allison laughs, biting her lip. “Well...this is it. My first real date.”

“Go!” Lydia laughs, hugging her. “You don't want to be late.”

“Okay, bye.” Allison breathes in, smiles, and gets in her car. 

Lydia leans against her own car, watching her leave. She was happy for her, but also a little jealous. Lydia wanted to go on  _ her  _ first date. But, her happiness trumps the jealousy, so she grins and waves Allison goodbye. 

She gets in her car, and sits there for a second trying to decide what to do. It's Friday night, and she has no one to do anything with. 

“I can be alone.” She nodded, breathing in as she talked to herself. “I've...you know, been without Allison before. On multiple occasions. I can do this.” 

She goes and picks up chinese for dinner, and sits on her couch watching TV. She is bored out of her mind, and halfway through a thirty-minute show she can’t stand it anymore. She has no idea what she’s going to do if Allison and Scott become an actual couple, because this is probably what every future Friday night will look like. And every weekend. Oh, God.

She goes on the internet and looks up recipes for strawberry-banana smoothies. That only takes about twenty minutes, though, which is extremely annoying. 

“What’s all the noise down here?” Her mom asks, descending the stairs. “I thought a train had gone through our house.”

“I made a smoothie. I’m so freaking bored.” She groans dramatically, sitting back in her seat. 

“Why? Don’t you and Allison usually hang out on the weekend? Well, every day, more like?” Her mom laughs, sitting down at the seat across from her. 

“She’s actually...on a date right now.” Lydia sighs, gulping down her smoothie shortly after.

“A date? Wow!” Her mom laughs, forcing Lydia to roll her eyes. “Who is it?”

“Scott McCall.” Lydia answers, propping her legs on the table. Her mom gives her a look, so she quickly takes them off. 

“Scott McCall? Isn’t he popular?” She asks, seeming confused. 

“Yeah, he is.” Lydia laughs, shaking her head. “Allison asked him out and he said yes.”

“Isn't he friends with Stiles?” Her mom asks, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah. And that's exactly why they're on a double date right now.” Lydia sighs, chewing on her lip. 

“Oh. I forgot he's dating that girl.” She gives a sad look, knowing Lydia likes him. 

“There are advantages of my mom being a teacher, and also disadvantages.” Lydia half-laughs, half-groans. 

“If Allison dates Scott, then that means you get closer to Stiles, though. He will like you. Any boy in their right mind would. Or girl.” She shrugs, and Lydia covers her face.

“Moms have to say that. It's like, an unspoken rule between all moms I'm pretty sure.” Lydia replies, huffing sadly. 

“That doesn't mean it's not true.” Her mom assures her, shrugging. “You're beautiful, funny...a little annoying, but that's something that can be learned to look past.”

“Jesus, Mom.” Lydia rolls her eyes, shoving chips in her mouth. “That really raises my self-confidence levels. They're through the roof now.”

“Everyone has their stuff, Lydia. At least now you know I was telling the truth about the other stuff.” Her mom laughs, reaching over the table to pet her hair. 

“I guess.” Lydia laughs, and sighs. “I don't know, mom. He's different than I thought he was.”

“Is that a good or bad thing?” Her mom replies, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“Bad! Very bad.” She throws her hands in the air, and groans. “He's a jerk.”

“Oh.” Her mom nods, pushing her glasses up with her finger. 

“It’s my fault, I guess. I had a false idea of who he is or something. That’s not fair to me. Or him. It just freaking sucks.” She sighs, chewing the inside of her cheek incessantly. 

“I think it’s all an act he puts on. I’ve seen his grades; he isn’t an airhead jock type like he pretends he is.” Miss Martin tells her, taking a sip from her wine glass. 

“I know. He’s super smart. It’s kind of annoying, actually.” She reaches for her mom’s wine glass, but she smacks her hand away, making Lydia roll her eyes. “It would be easier to not like him if he was a complete dumbass.”

“He’s not the only person you’ll ever meet, Lydia, you know that.” 

“Yeah, yeah, there are plenty of other fish in the sea, I get it.” Lydia moans, leaning her head back against the chair. “I understand it, I do, but I can’t seem to stop liking him. I see how big of a jerk he is and he makes me mad, but my feelings for him just...won’t go away. Even if I want them to.”

“Well, maybe you should try going out with someone else. There have been plenty of other people that you could have the potential of liking, but you’ve been hung up on Stiles so long that you never see them. Put yourself out there.” She suggests, taking another drink of her wine. “Or don’t date anyone at all. You’ll forget about him eventually.”

“I want to, but I really don’t think I  _ can  _ get over him.” She admits, biting her lip. “Wow, that was dramatic. What am I, like, ten? Who cares. Love is...you know, love sucks and all that.”

“You’re too young to be cynical about love, Lydia. I miss being young and in love. It’s different now.” She hums quietly, and Lydia knows the wine is getting to her. “I miss being young.”

“Um...okay, Mom. Anyway, I think I’m gonna go, uh, grab some food since this is getting weird. Or...just do anything but this. Do you want anything while I’m out?” She asks, stretching from her chair and grabbing her bag and keys from the counter. 

“No thanks. Have a good time.” Her mom sighs, swirling her finger around in her glass. She's just looking at the wall now, thinking. Lydia widens her eyes and then slips out the door. 

So now it's only been about an hour and a half since Allison left. It already feels like eternity, and there's still probably two or three more hours until she gets home and calls. So Lydia, to pass the time, goes to the diner to eat. 

She sits in her usual spot, cramming milkshake-dunked fries in her mouth and reading comic books. It’s not much, but it’s enough to pass the time.


	14. Donuts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you all want longer chapters, but it's extremely hard for me to write as much as I do already because I'm so busy! I already update three times per week, and they're usually a minimum of 1,000 words. I'm sorry, but I hope you can all understand that it's hard for me to meet your expectations with that sometimes. Thanks for reading!

“Tell me all of it. Like actually all of it. I’ve been waiting four hours for this, so do not leave out one single detail.” Lydia says into the phone, chewing on her nails and sitting up in her bed. She was so anxious to hear how it went, that she felt like she had been there herself.

“Okay. We got there, and he’s like, the worst bowler ever. It was so cute, Lydia. He’s so adorable, and funny, and nice. I like him even more than I thought I would.” She sighs, and Lydia can imagine her twirling her finger around the phone line like in those cheesy teen movies. But this wasn’t the 90’s, so there’s no phone lines anymore. She imagines one anyway to make it interesting.

“You’re off track. Continue.” Lydia laughs, laying on her back and smiling.

“You’re right. Okay, we bowled for a while, and we just talked and everything. We held hands, too. His hands were sweaty and stuff. I think he was nervous.” She laughs like she can’t believe it, and Lydia is smiling like an idiot just imagining it. “We went outside to be alone for a little while, and we got a chance to talk. His mom is a nurse, and she just got at Beacon Hills hospital a few months ago. They lived in northern California, but moved here because they transferred her to this hospital. Hm...what else? Oh yeah. His dad left when he was a kid, so his mom has raised him his entire life. He played lacrosse at his last school, but he said he wasn’t ever very good.”

“This is so good. What else?” Lydia asks, biting her nails with anticipation.

“I ended up having to help him bowl. He was horrible at it.” She laughs, and sighs. “He wasn’t embarrassed by it or anything, you know? He wasn’t emasculated because a girl was helping him bowl. I know that’s pretty low standards, but I’m over the moon right now.”

“I’m so happy for you. Did you get any action?”

“Lydia!” Allison scoffs and laughs, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Um...but yeah. A little. We kissed.”

“What?! How was it? When?” Lydia is standing on her bed now, because she physically cannot take the excitement.

“It was...amazing. I know this is cliche, but I honestly saw fireworks. It was perfect, Lydia.” She sighs, sounding like Lydia when she talks about Stiles. It’s weird hearing it from someone else. Except Allison actually has a valid reason to act this way, unlike Lydia. “We told each other goodbye, and then...he kissed me. He hesitated a second before he did it, making sure I wanted him to.”

“I’m so happy for you.” Lydia falls back on her bed, grinning ear-to-ear.

“Thanks.” Allison hums happily, and then gasps. “Oh yeah! Stiles and Ashley like...didn’t talk to each other at all. It was weird. They looked completely annoyed with each other. I can’t help but think that the whole ‘deeply in love’ thing they have at school is just that - only at school.”

“Wait,” Lydia sits up, furrowing her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. The vibe was weird or something. They kept being snappy with each other. It was like...it was like they weren’t even together.” Allison says into the phone.

“Oh.” Lydia gulps, feeling bad for being happy about it. “Is it...horrible that I’m not sad over that?”

“Not really. It was the exact same thing I was thinking.” Allison laughs, making Lydia feel relieved. “They kept making out, though. It was weird. I think it’s a love-hate relationship.”

“Yeah, well they’re both jerks so I can see how that makes sense.” Lydia mutters, rolling her eyes. “I’m kinda rethinking this whole ‘liking him’ thing. He’s like, the worst person ever.”

“Maybe you should just give it another shot. Just one more, okay? I really don’t think Scott would hang out with him for nothing. Seriously.” Allison insists, and Lydia sighs. “Besides, he wasn't bad tonight. He was pretty decent, actually.”

“Maybe it’s just me he hates, then.” Lydia sighs, and buries her face in her pillow.

“He doesn't. You just challenge him and he isn't used to it.” Allison murmurs. “Anyway, I'm exhausted. I'll call you tomorrow so we can hang out. It was so weird not being around you for a full night.”

“I know. It was like, the weirdest thing ever. But yeah, get your rest. I'll see you tomorrow.” Lydia laughs, suddenly feeling sleepy herself. Doing a lot of nothing can really wear a person out.

The next day Lydia sleeps in late. It’s ten-o-seven A.M. when her phone starts ringing loudly, making her fall off the bed.

“Shit,” She complains, squinting one eye open and groaning in pain from hitting her head on her floor. She reaches up and yawns as she blindly fumbles her hand around her nightstand to find her phone.

“Hello?” She yawns, running her fingers through her tangled hair. Her eyes still haven’t opened once.

“Hey, Lyd.” Allison laughs on the other line, as Lydia rubs her eyes sleepily. “Did I wake you?”

“Um...yeah. What is it, like five in the morning?” Lydia whines, laying down on her floor.

“Ten, actually.” She replies with a laugh.

“Same difference.” Lydia grumbles moodily, and gets back up on her bed.

“I was just calling to see if you’d come over. I miss you.” Allison whines, making Lydia laugh.

“Yeah, I’ll come. Give me a few minutes to wake up.” She yawns, throwing an arm over her eyes.

“Okay, great. Bring Star Wars, alright?” Allison says, and Lydia knows something’s up, but she can’t quite pinpoint what it is.

“Really?” Lydia asks, not believing it.

“I told you I’d watch, and I’d like to think I keep my word.” Allison laughs, making Lydia smile with excitement.

“I’ll be there in like, two minutes. Oh, and I want to hear more about last night.” Lydia jumps out of bed, and throws on sweats and a t-shirt.

"Yeah, yeah, will do." Allison half-laughs, half clears her throat. "See you when you get here. Bye."

"Bye." Lydia replies, and tosses her phone onto her bed. In a rush now, she puts her hair up in a messy bun, grabs her Star Wars blu-ray set, and heads out the door. She decides they need snacks, so she goes by the local donut shop and grabs a box of a dozen donuts, and them each a cup of donut holes just because.

“Thank God you’ve come to your senses! Well, you promised me you would do it if I came with you, but still.” Lydia barges in Allison’s house, setting the donuts on the counter in the kitchen. She grabs a drink from the fridge, and goes to the entry of the stairway, assuming Allison’s upstairs in her bedroom. “Get your ass down here! If we want to even finish the original trilogy today we have to start now.”

“Lydia, I was in the living room.” Allison laughs behind her, but her voice is low.

“Jesus, why didn’t you tell me that when I walked in?” Lydia starts laughing as she turns around. Then she drops her drink on the floor, and gulps. Her heart rate instantly increases, and she can feel the blood rush to her ears, causing a ringing sound. 

Scott is there, walking into the kitchen right behind Allison. Allison is biting her lip, and looking at Lydia with a “please forgive me” look. And then there’s Stiles, who is leaning against the counter, rubbing his chin and trying not to laugh.


	15. Star Wars

“Hey Allison, can I, um, talk to you a sec?” Lydia asks, trying to ignore how incredibly embarrassing this whole situation is. 

“Yeah,” Allison nods her head sheepishly, leading the way to the living room. Stiles is holding in laughter as she passes him, and she pretends like she doesn't notice. She would hate to give him the satisfaction. 

“Why did you not warn me they were going to be here? Specifically Stiles?” Lydia whispers, closing her eyes and pushing her lips together. 

“Well I called you and I was going to tell you they were coming too, but they got here early. In the middle of our phone call, to be exact. So I couldn’t really warn you then, I guess. I don’t know.” Allison bites her lip, smiling a little. 

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard about it, but there’s this really neat technology called ‘texting.’ It’s really easy and convenient, and private, too.” Lydia counters back sarcastically, sighing loudly.

“I know, I know, I was going to text you. But Scott smiled at me and we talked, and I kind of forgot all about it. I’m sorry.” She mutters with shame, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

“It’s...fine. I just wish I had known, so I could have, you know, taken a shower, and put on  _ anything  _ other than this.” She looks down at her t-shirt and sweatpants, covering her face with embarrassment. 

“You look great.” Allison rolls her eyes, sighing. 

“Why is Stiles here, anyway? I can understand Scott, but  _ Stiles? _ ” Lydia bites her lip, nervously glancing towards the kitchen to make sure they aren’t eavesdropping. 

“Scott said that he promised Stiles they would hang out today. But then since the date last night went so well, he wanted me to hang out with them too. We couldn’t think of anything to do, so I mentioned that you and I were going to have a Star Wars marathon, and Scott immediately said yes, and Stiles agreed. So you’re pretty much up to date now.” Allison shrugs, trying to hide her amazingly-good mood for Lydia’s sake. 

“Okay. I’ll just...deal with it, I guess.” Lydia huffs, trying not to ruin Allison’s happiness. 

“Thanks, Lyd, you’re the best.” Allison grins, and breathes in. “Let’s go.”

They walk back into the kitchen, and Lydia avoids all eye contact.

“Scott and I will get the movies ready, you guys can grab some food and drinks.” Allison smiles, grabbing the DVDs and leading Scott into the living room.

“Have fun with your ‘girl talk?’’ Stiles asks, sitting on Allison’s kitchen counter and munching down on a donut. 

“Why the hell are you eating my donuts?” Lydia asks, rushing up to him and pulling the box out from under him. 

“I assumed they were for the guests. My bad.” He jumps down from the counter, laughing. “And anyway, I didn’t think you bought all of this for just you and Allison. That’s a lot of donuts. I assumed you knew we were coming, but it's obvious you didn't.”

“So what are you saying?” She asks, crossing her arms and furrowing her eyebrows. “And no, to answer your question, I didn't know you were here.”

“I’m saying you must be some kind of bottomless pit. Where does it all go?” He laughs, and she laughs breathlessly because he has the most beautiful laugh in the history of laughs. How could she have ever thought she was over him?

“Wow. Did Stiles Stilinski just almost compliment someone? This must be some kind of revelation.” She gasps dramatically, trying not to blush from the attention. He’s looking right at her, and that’s enough to make her pass out. 

“It wasn’t an almost compliment. Just an observation.” He shrugs, a hint of a smile on his lips. 

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes, trying to fight a smile of her own. “Grab the donuts, I’ll get the drinks.”

“Will do.” He complies, grabbing the box and both cups of the donut holes. She opens the fridge, and grabs them all a mini bottle of milk. She gathers them up in her arms, and follows Stiles into the living room. 

Allison and Scott are on the couch, a blanket thrown over them. Then there’s a blanket on the other couch, meant for Stiles and Lydia. Allison is not discreet at all, and it’s incredibly embarrassing. 

“I’ll just...take this.” Lydia laughs awkwardly, grabbing the donut holes from on top of the box Stiles is holding. She hands them all a milk bottle, and then goes to sit on the other couch. Stiles looks around, sees an open spot beside Scott, and takes it. Lydia isn’t sure if it’s because it’s someone else’s house so he wants something familiar, or if he just really doesn’t want to sit by her. She, of course, is worried it’s the latter. 

So they all get comfy, and start the movie. 

“Allison, why did you put in episode I? What the hell?” Lydia dives to the DVD player as the start sequence appears. 

“What? I thought we were going to watch them in order?” Allison laughs, taking a bite of a donut. 

“We are. You have to watch episode IV, V, and VI first. I, II, and III are prequels. You have to start with episode IV.” Lydia shakes her head, disappointed that after all of these years Allison doesn’t know that. 

“Well if there are prequels, wouldn’t it make sense that you watch those first?” Scott asks, and Lydia whips her head around, and looks at him like he had just cursed in a room full of toddlers. 

“All of you sadden me deeply.” Lydia shakes her head, switching out the DVDs. 

“She’s really serious about her Star Wars.” Allison laughs, and then Stiles speaks up.

“Think of it this way,” he explains, “They come out with the first trilogy. At the time, those were episodes I, II, and III. Then, years later, they make a prequel trilogy. Naming the prequels IV, V, and VI doesn’t make any sense, since they were technically before, but not  _ made _ before. So, that’s how the original trilogy became IV, V, and VI, and the prequels became episodes I, II, and III.” 

“Exactly.” Lydia replies hoarsely, realizing she had never been this turned on her entire life. That was definitely, one hundred percent, the hottest thing he's ever said. “I didn't realize you liked Star Wars.”

“I've never seen them, actually. I just...read a lot.” He shrugs, grabbing another donut. “I’ve never been one to indulge in fantasy movies, but I’ll give it a try.”

Lydia pauses for a second, wanting to snap back with a witty comment, but she decided against it. This time.

“Well, here we go.” Lydia sighs contently, leaning back on the couch and listening to the theme song start playing.

It's twenty minutes in, and Lydia is distracted by all of Allison and Scott's whispering. She's also annoyed that after all this time, Allison isn't even paying attention. But she doesn't want to be rude since Scott’s there, so she just shuts her mouth and deals with it. 

“Mind if I sit here?” Stiles asks, waving his hand in front of Lydia to gain her attention. Her donut holes almost fly out of her grasp from surprise, and she gulps. “They're a little distracting over there.”

“Oh, yeah...no, uh, no problem.” She scoots over, trying to look nonchalant even though she's about to cry. She shoves three donut holes in her mouth, trying to distract herself from the fact that his leg just briefly touched hers.

They sit there and watch the movie. Lydia is pretty sure that Allison and Scott still haven't even realized Stiles had just moved. She chews on her lip, and purposely tries not to bounce her leg, tap her finger, or chew her nails, because that would make her look nervous. She doesn't want him to know she's nervous.

Nothing has ever been able to distract her while she’s watching Star Wars, but somehow, right now, she can’t focus on Leia’s message from R2-D2 to save her life. It’s not like Stiles is touching her, or talking to her, or kissing her neck like a successful attempt at distraction in a romance movie. He’s simply just sitting there, probably a foot away, and it’s making her unable to even process a single thought.

Deciding that she probably looks incredibly weird right now, she pulls her feet under her on the couch, leans back, and watches the movie like a normal human being would do. She tries to at least, but as soon as she finally gets comfortable, her muscles tense again.

"Who's that guy?" Stiles asks, leaning in and whispering to her as to not disturb Scott and Allison's weird love fest. It was a nice thing to do, really. He didn't want to interrupt their moment, so he was being quiet like any best friend should do. But, beside that fact, she could feel his hot breath on her ear, and she actually,  _ actually _ has to bite down extremely hard on her lip so she can come even close to forming a basic thought.

"Obi Wan," Lydia explains, muttering back. She turns her head, and his face is right there in front of hers. But he's staring at the TV, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. God, why do guys have to look so hot while they're thinking? Maybe it's because it's a rare sight? Who knows, but she's pretty sure she's going to die any second from being too overwhelmed.

"Yeah? I've heard that name," He looks at her finally, but he's not at all alarmed by their proximity. She gulps, and tries to look at him like nothing is out of the ordinary. But oh, God, it's so hard, because he's pretty close to her, and he's biting his lip, and she can see his beautiful, dark lashes narrowing in thought while he glances between her and the TV.

"Mhmm," She nods, looking back at the TV, too. She's out of breath. "He's a main character in the prequels."

"Oh. Oh, yeah, I knew that." He laughs and shakes his head, mentally scolding himself.

He's not even looking at her anymore. He's chewing on his lip, so fixated on the movie that he doesn't even see her, doesn't even notice her presence there. It doesn't take long for her to realize that it's always been this way with them. Movies, school, friends; it doesn't matter what it is, really. There's always been a barrier between them that never quite lets him fully see her like she sees him, and it’s agonizing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the start of some character development, so I hope you all like it! Remember: I update on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays! (I usually post it the night before though, if you want to read it early)


	16. Pizza Pickup

“Who's ready for lunch?” Lydia stretches her legs out, yawning as the Star Wars theme starts playing on the TV. The first episode had just ended. It had taken her a while, but finally she had relaxed enough to watch it. Barely.

“Yeah, I'm starving.” Stiles agrees, pushing himself off the couch. He stretches too, reaching his hands in the air and groaning. When he puts his arms up, that pulls his shirt up, too, showing a sliver of his stomach. His sweatpants are so, _so_ low on his hips, and she can she his happy trail, and his hard, toned abs. She turns and actually has to bite her fist because her hormones are raging and she can hardly take it. She's seen him shirtless on the lacrosse field multiple times, but this time seems different for some reason. Maybe it's because he right next to her, close enough for her to see every muscle and curve. Whatever it is, it's intoxicating, and distracting, and just about every other word in the English language.

“So what are we doing? I'm hungry too.” Allison stands up, making Lydia gulp and turn around finally to face them.

“I'm kinda craving pizza.” Stiles admits, rubbing his stomach. Allison is glancing between Lydia and Stiles, smiling.

“That sounds so good.” Allison agrees, looking at the others for approval. Then she looks at Lydia, smiling, and then her gaze settles on Stiles. Lydia knows that look, and she quickly tries to shake her head to signal “no,” but it's too late. “Why don't you guys go grab us a pizza? Scott and I will get the plates and drinks ready. It'll save time.”

“Sounds great. But let's order right now - I'm so hungry.” Stiles laughs, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Where do you guys wanna get it from?”

“Papa John’s sounds good. And it's not too far away.” Scott suggests, and Lydia gives Allison a look of pure death.

“Allison, do you wanna come help me order?” Lydia smiles sweetly, but her eyes are shooting daggers.

“Mhmm.” Allison nods, breathing in deeply. They walk to the kitchen, and Lydia presses her forehead against the wall.

“What the hell?” She asks, breathing in deeply. “Why would you volunteer me for that? I don’t know what to say to him!”

“Think of it as a good thing,” Allison suggests, shrugging her shoulders. “You and Stiles can be alone.”

“That’s literally the exact reason why I _don’t_ want to do it!” Lydia turns around, and puts her face in her hands. “I refuse.”

“It’ll be fine. It takes like, three minutes to get there. Besides, it’ll give Scott and I some alone time, too.” She smiles, biting her lip. “Please? It's a win-win for both of us.”

“Fine.” Lydia huffs, smoothing out her shirt. “I'm doing this for you. You owe me one. No, you owe me like, ten thousand.”

“I do! I do.” Allison grins, biting her lip. “Thanks, Lydia.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Lydia waves her off, grabbing the phone. “You order. I hate ordering.”

“No problem. What are we getting?” Allison ask, pressing the number into the phone from memory.

“Hmm. A large cheese, and a large pepperoni. Those are both universally loved.” Lydia says, and Allison nods and turns her back, talking to the employee.

Lydia just sits there while Allison orders, trying to think of possible topic conversations for in the car. The weather? Too boring. School? Also too boring. His family? That's a possibility. She doesn't know much about his family, only that his dad is a Sheriff. She only knows that because he's gotten him out of like, twenty speeding tickets.

“They said it can be picked up in about fifteen minutes.” Allison tells Lydia, leaning against the counter. “I ordered us a few sodas too.”

“Okay. Okay, we should go, then.” Lydia breathes in, biting her lip.

“Here's some money. Mom and dad left some.” Allison hands it to her, and she shoves it in her pocket.

“Thanks. Where are they anyway?” Lydia asks, trying to think of anything else but having to ride alone in a car with Stiles Stilinski. _The_ Stiles Stilinski.

“They said they had to go on some kind of two-day hunting trip upstate. I don't know. I don't question their weirdness.” Allison laughs, shaking her head.

“I bet they're doing something kinky.” Lydia suggests, and Allison gasps.

“Shut up! That's gross.” Allison laughs, scrunching her nose up. “Anyway. Are you gonna be okay with... _him?_ ”

“Yeah, I'm just...nervous.” Her smile fades, and she gulps. “But it'll be fine.”

“You'll be great. He’ll want to desperately make out with you by the end of the night.” Allison smiles, squeezing Lydia’s hand.

“I think you're forgetting the tiny fact that he has a girlfriend.” Lydia laughs, but blushes from the thought of them making out.

“He doesn't like her, though, and she doesn't like him, either. It may be fun right now, but they'll break up eventually.” Allison shrugs, fixing her hair in the reflection of the microwave. “I’m calling it right now.”

“Still. I'm not a homewrecker.” Lydia sighs, chewing on her lip.

“Come on.” Allison rolls her eyes with a smile, and pulls her into the living room. As always, Lydia's voice gives out as soon as she sees Stiles.

“So what kind did you order?” Stiles asks, leaning against the wall, still smiling at something Scott had just said. His fingers are rubbing the bottom of his chin, and he's...looking right at her. Couldn't he have just as easily asked Allison? Maybe he knows she's awkwardly staring at him, and he wants to bug her about it even more. Sometimes she wishes that she could actually hate him, just to make him annoyed by it. But, of course, she can't.

"Um," She forces a yawn, feigning sleepiness so he will think she was just zoning out for exhaustion. "A large cheese, and a large pepperoni. And some drinks, too."

"Classic. I like it." He nods, twirling his key ring around his index finger. "Ready to go, Lydia?"

"Yeah," She answers, discreetly inhaling a deep breath. "I am."


	17. Car

They’re in his Jeep now. The famous Stiles Stilinski Jeep, which smells like him. It’s pretty beat up on the inside, which makes it at least a little more comfortable and homey. He throws a McDonald’s bag in the backseat, and apologizes for the mess. She wonders how he can eat this much McDonald’s and still somehow have the abs he has. 

She tries to act normal. She pulls on the seat belt, but it won’t click. She starts panicking a little, just because it’s two seconds in and something is already going wrong. He jiggles the keys and starts the engine, and then glances over at Lydia, who is desperately trying to buckle her seat belt. 

“Sorry, the buckles get kind of...jammed sometimes.” He laughs with a hint of embarrassment behind it. He leans in, puts his hand on hers, and pushes down with much more force than she had been using. She looks at him and gulps, feeling his warm, surprisingly soft hands settle on top of hers. 

“It’s...fine.” She breathes out, keeping her eyes on him. He’s focused on the jammed seat belt still, and he’s so beautiful that it’s hard to remember what’s going on around her. 

“Okay, I think I got it. Sorry about that.” He glances up to see her reaction, so she quickly gives a smiles and shakes her head, hoping to God that Stiles hadn’t just felt how sweaty her hands are. 

“Don’t apologize. It’s nothing.” She assures him, gulping one more time. She’s a complete mess, and she’s  _ embarrassed  _ that she’s a mess, because all he did was touch her. A small, tiny touch that meant nothing. So why is her heart beating a thousand times per minute?

“So,” Lydia clears her throat, trying to act normal for the millionth time today. “Allison said the date went well last night.”

“Oh yeah. It was fun.” He nods, staring ahead at the road. He’s pretty unreadable when he wants to be, and that drives Lydia up the friggin’ wall. “Scott and Allison will be good together, I think.”

“I do too.” Lydia smiles, thinking of how happy they seem as a couple. “They’re cute. Gross, but cute.”

“Yeah,” Stiles laughs, switching gears with his right hand. “It’s sickening being around them. Just a little.”

“I agree,” She laughs too, and he glances over at her with a small smile. Then she quietly clears her throat, and tries to sound casual. “So I guess that means we’ll be hanging out more. All of us, I mean. The group. The gang. The pack.” 

“Most likely.” He nods, but that’s all he gives her. She rolls her eyes and looks out the window, trying to think of something else to say. She opens her mouth to say spout out something random, just to fill the silence, but he talks first. “You don’t have to worry about her. Scott’s a good guy. A great guy, really.”

“Thanks. Seriously.” Lydia looks at him, and bites the inside of her lip. “I was kind of...worried at first. But after meeting him, I believe you. He’s nice. She really likes him.” 

“He likes her too. She’s all he’s been talking about.” Stiles smiles slightly, and Lydia can tell that he’s happy that Scott is happy. Just like Lydia is with Allison. 

“And vice versa.” Lydia laughs, running her finger over a loose thread on her sweatpants. “How did you two meet? I mean, he’s new to school, and it seems like you guys knew each other before his first day.”

“We did. Kind of.” He tells her, and she wonders if he’s going to elaborate. He does. “So my dad’s the sheriff. I’m not sure if you knew that, but yeah, he is. Over the summer...there was an accident. It wasn’t big, but he ended up in the hospital. He was only there for a few days, but he had a nurse.”

“Scott’s mom,” Lydia finishes for him, nodding along.

“Correct,” He laughs, scratching the back of his neck. Which was really hot, by the way. “She’s awesome. But yeah, I had to stay in the waiting room for about two days straight. Scott was there during the daytime just waiting for his mom to get off work because he didn’t have anything else to do, and we became friends. He usually went home at night with his mom, but he volunteered to stay there. ‘I’ll stay with you. This place get’s kind of boring.’” Stiles mimicked Scott’s voice, smiling. “I was kind of an ass to him at first, but he was never mean to me. Not once. So yeah, we knew each other before school. A little, at least. After that day, we hung out some. Nothing major, but on days I knew he was in that damned waiting room, I just picked him up and let him tag along with me for the day. So now he’s pretty much my closest friend. Funny how that works, huh?”

She looks at him, realizing that this is the Stiles she always thought he was. Caring, funny, loving Stiles. She could just imagine him in the waiting room, worried to death. Although that’s pretty much the absolute bare minimum of being a decent human being, it’s still cute to think about.

After a few seconds without a response from her, he cleared his throat. 

“But yeah,” He continues, putting on his ‘asshole jock’ act again. “He’s cool.”

She didn’t want this. She didn’t want him to think she didn’t reply because she thought it was all stupid or cheesy or anything like that. She was just sort of in shock because he had finally been the real Stiles with her, and now she blew it. She completely blew it. 

“That’s great, Stiles.” She says. God, she’s so mad at herself! Say something else! “You, um...I mean...I’m happy for you. Everyone needs a best friend.”

“Yeah.” He nods, but she already knows she ruined her chances. 

“Here we are.” She smiles, filled with relief that they finally made it to the pizza place. “Let’s go.”

They go up to the counter, and get told that their pizza’s almost done, but they need to wait a few minutes. So they sit down at a small table, and Lydia chews on a straw aimlessly while Stiles leans back in his seat and stares out the window into the street.

“What are you looking at?” Lydia asks, leaning over the table to try and get a glimpse of what he’s so fixated on. 

“Nothing.” He turns to her, and she quickly realizes that they’re pretty close. The straw drops out of her mouth and onto the table, and she laughs awkwardly as she sits back down in her chair. He cracks a small smile, as if it’s on accident, and then looks out the window again. “What do you want to do, Lydia?”

“Like...college?” She asks, gulping. 

“Yes.” He replies curtly, and turns to fully look at her. 

“I prefer not to think of that, actually. It’s a few years away, and I’m going to put it off as much as I can.” She laughs, and scratches her neck. “You?”

“I’m not sure if that’s any of your business.” He raises an eyebrow and smiles, messing with her. 

“Don’t be a jerk.” She grins, looking out the window herself now. 

“You like to call me that a lot don’t you?” He asks, folding his napkin smoothly and diligently even though he’s not even looking at it. 

“What?”

“Jerk. You call me that a lot. Or dick, or asshole. Although, I’m sure those are synonymous to ‘jerk’ in this context.” He answers, and she can’t tell if he’s mad, sad, or amused by this. 

“Um...well you are a lot. A jerk.” She shrugs, and he opens his mouth like he can’t believe she just admitted it. He obviously thought she was going to cower away when he confronted her. 

“Am I? Well if we’re giving nicknames here, then it’s my turn to give you one, right? Let’s see.” He narrows his eyes, thinking. She tries not to blush. “I’ve got it. Car.”

“Car? Last time I checked, I’m not a friggin’ 2012 Kia Sorento.” She huffs, disappointed. She wanted to be something cute, like ‘pumpkin’, or ‘babe’, or even ‘honey’. She would cringe at any of those nicknames, but from him...she would be called dickhead if that’s what he wanted.

“Not that kind of car. Like a cardinal the bird. They’re small, red, and angry.” He shrugs, sitting back in his seat again. 

“Only male cardinals are red! So now you’re calling me a male bird?” She whines, praying to God it won’t stick. 

“That’s beside the point. And anyway, that’s still miles ahead of ‘jerk’, so get used to it, Car.” He smiles, running his thumb across his bottom lip. 

“Fine.” She complains, pretending like she isn’t about to explode right now. 

Soon after, the employee gives them their pizza and drinks, they pay, and then they leave. They only bicker more about the nicknames on the way home, but Lydia doesn’t mind. She can’t believe he has a specific nickname for her. 

They’re talking and laughing as they pull into Allison’s driveway, until Stiles’ face drops. Lydia looks to see what caused it, and see’s a nice, silver car parked in Allison’s driveway. She’s about to ask what’s wrong, until she see’s her. A sick feeling immediately pits in Lydia’s stomach, as Stiles puts the car in park; his mood changing drastically in seconds. 

Ashley. 


	18. Clueless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your reviews! They mean a lot, and I appreciate every single one of them :) I'm uploading early, and it's also a pretty long chapter, so enjoy :)

“Um...what is she doing here? Not that I, you know, care, but I was just…” Lydia cuts herself off, practically already breaking a sweat. This isn’t going to be good.

“I’m just as clueless as you are.” He answers, sighing as he opens the door of his Jeep, getting out. Lydia breathes in deeply, and gathers up the pizza and drinks. Thanks for the help, Stiles. 

“Baby I missed you.” Ashley sticks her bottom lip out, grabs his shirt, and pulls him towards her. She’s pressed against her car, and he’s pressed against her. “I know we had a fight last night, but it was stupid.”

“How did you know I was here?” Stiles asks, scratching the back of his neck. Lydia hums quietly, looking around like she isn't listening. 

“I tried calling you, but you wouldn’t pick up. So I called Scott, and he told me you guys were at Allison’s house.” She shrugs, tracing her finger along his jaw. She’s wearing shorts and a crop top; her long legs are about as tall as Lydia’s whole body. She wishes she could be that confident. “Who’s this?”

Lydia turns and waves awkwardly, and Stiles turns to look at her, too. He bites his lip, and turns back to Ashley, lowering his voice to a whisper. “That’s Allison’s best friend, remember? You met her at lunch the other day.”

“Oh. The chewer.” She nods, giving her another glance. 

“We just went to go grab pizza.” He explains, and she nods.

“I just want to make sure we’re okay.” She mutters, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“We are. We’re good.” He smiles, and she grins and kisses him. Lydia’s heart sinks, and she feels a lump in her throat. Which is stupid, she knows, because they're dating. It still hurts, though. 

“Come back to my place,” Ashley whispers against his lips, running her hand down his chest. He catches her hand and laughs. Lydia quickly realizes that she shouldn't be here, so she walks towards the front door, trying not to draw attention to herself. 

“Can’t. I promised Scott I’d stay over here.” He answers, and then lowers his voice even more. “It's a drag, I know, but Scott really wants me too.”

Lydia stops in her tracks. She feels sick. She pushes through the front door, and the last thing she hears from the conversation is "Ugh, fine."

"I've got pizza," Lydia announces, setting everything down on the table. She tries as hard as she can to compose herself and not burst out in tears.

"Oh, thank you. We're so hungry." Allison grins, giving Lydia a brief hug as she and Scott enter the kitchen. She grabs a plate, opens the box, and then looks at Lydia with her eyebrow raised. "Where's Stiles?"

"Probably with Ashley," Scott admits, shoving his hands in his pockets. "They had a fight last night after the date. She's been hounding me about where he's been all morning, and I finally just...gave in. I'm sorry. If you don't want her here, we can leave, it's no big deal. It's your house, I don't want to invite people over or anything. I didn't know she'd actually show."

"No, it's okay, Scott. Right, Lyd?" Allison bites her lip, looking to make sure Lydia's okay. She looks sad for her, and she doesn't even know the half of it.

"Yeah," Lydia nods, pushing her lips together. "No biggie."

"I'm sorry." He tells them, just as Stiles and Ashley walk into the house, hand-in-hand.

"Mmm, smells good." She smiles, putting her arm around Stiles. "I hope it's okay if I'm here."

"Yeah. Yeah, it's fine. We're just going to eat and watch some Star Wars." Allison explains, handing her a plate. "Dig in."

"Thanks," She smiles, taking the plate. They all sit there in an awkward silence. Lydia is shooting daggers at Stiles for his rude comment, and either he doesn't notice, or he's really, really good at  _ pretending _ he doesn't notice.

"I guess I'll go first." Allison laughs, stepping forward and grabbing a few pieces of pizza. That made everyone else comfortable enough to get some, too. "Sorry, Ashley, we didn't get you a drink. I'm sorry, I just didn't know you'd be here."

"Oh, it's no problem," She waves her off, and Lydia is getting even more angry because she's being nice. It would be a lot easier to hate her if she was just flat out rude, but she's...not being that way. Not right now, at least.

"You can share with me," Stiles tells her, nuzzling his nose against her ear. Lydia ignores it, grabs a drink, and goes back to the living room. She thinks for a second, and then goes and sits on Scott and Allison's couch, leaving Stiles and Ashley room on the other couch.

Finally, after they all finish talking and laughing about something, they pile into the living room. Lydia is aggravated, but more upset than anything. That would have hurt her feelings even if she wasn't stupidly in love with him.

"Car, press play," Stiles says, settling in on the couch with Ashley.

"Who's Car?" Allison laughs, looking at Stiles.

"Oh - my nickname for Lydia," He shrugs, laughing. "Like Cardinal. Small, red, angry. I think it fits nicely."

"I tried to tell him that it's literally the worst nickname in human history, but he insists. It's annoying." Lydia huffs, scrounging for the remote.

"That really is a horrible nickname. That's not your strong point, Stiles." Scott laughs, taking Lydia's side.

"Thank you!" Lydia laughs, reaching over and giving him a high-five. "It's, like, not even remotely good."

"Okay, does it matter?" He half-smiles, turning his body so he can look at her.

"Yeah, actually, because I don't want to walk into school on Monday and have literally everyone calling me by a male bird. I embarrass myself enough, I don't need your help." Lydia scoffs, trying to fight a smile of her own. God, she wants to stay mad at him! She wipes the smile from her face, and continues to look for the remote.

"What makes you think I have that much power? Besides, it's not really embarrassing, per se, maybe just...odd." He shrugs, throwing a pillow at her playfully.

"Hey!" Her mouth drops, and she tosses it back, hitting him in the head.

"I want a nickname," Ashley speaks up, turning around in Stiles' lap to face him. "What's mine?"

"Yours is...sexy," He smirks, pressing his hand to the small of her back, and pulling her closer.

"Mmm, I like it," She hums, slipping her tongue in his mouth.

"God," Lydia whispers under her breath, rolling her eyes. She grabs the remote as quickly as she can, and presses play, making the volume of the movie blare through the house.

"Holy shit, Lydia." Allison laughs, pressing her hand to her heart. "That scared me."

"Sorry," Lydia apologizes, but she had achieved her goal. Stiles and Ashley parted from the abrupt interruption, but now they're talking and laughing and rubbing noses together like an actual couple. Lydia decides that she would rather them make out, so that plan didn't work at all.

Lydia tries to focus on the movie. She really does, but it's so hard when she's the worst third wheel ever. Or fifth wheel, whatever it is. It sucks. On top of that, Stiles and Ashley have been not-so-subtly been being gross over on their stupid couch. She's laying on him with her back pressed against his chest, and it first started with her touching his leg. It was a simple, sweet gesture in the beginning, until he had to stop her because her hand was getting too high. Then they're laughing and kissing and groping each other, and Lydia shoves pizza in her mouth and her head starts to hurt from rolling her eyes so much. She's pretty sure Allison and Scott are doing close to the same thing, but they at least have the decency to keep it quiet, for God's sake.

"Is anyone watching this but me?" Lydia asks, finally fed up.

"Hmm," Stiles thinks for a second, as Ashley lays her head on his chest. "Nope. Not really."

"Okay, well next time have the decency to lie, then, and pretend like you are." She narrows her eyes at him.

"That was a very contradictory sentence." He laughs, and she breathes in deeply, almost over the edge of  her body's annoyance meter.

"I think you feel left out, maybe? Surrounded by couples. Do you have a boyfriend?" Ashley asks, her fingers absentmindedly running over Stiles' arm. "Or girlfriend?"

"No, I'm...single." Lydia breathes in, on the verge of blushing. Allison's listening now, too.

"Oh," Ashley nods, giving her a small smile. "I could set you up with someone if you'd like."

Stiles' face is blank, unreadable, incredibly annoying. She gains some courage and speaks.

"Thanks, Ashley. Seriously. But I actually...Jackson asked me out. I said no, for now, but I'm thinking of setting something up just to try it out." Lydia nods, biting her lip.

"Jackson...Whittemore?" Ashley sits up, squinting her eyes. "He asked you out?"

"Um...yes. You were kind of there the first time. At the lunch table, remember? I tripped, made a complete ass of myself? Oh yeah, "the chewer" I think you called me. Cute...cute nickname, I might add." Lydia bites her cheek, knowing that she rambled on way past the point she should have.

"Oh, yeah, I remember. I think I was a little hungover that morning, sorry." She replies, looking up at Stiles.

"So...I actually think I'll call Jackson now. Stiles, can I have his number?" Lydia asks, pulling her own phone from her pocket.

"Actually...my phone's dead," He admits, not even checking. "I'm sure he won't mind waiting until Monday."

"Scott? You have Jackson's number, right?" Lydia turns to him, and he nods.

"Yeah," He tries not to look confused. "Are you sure...are you sure you want to go out with him?"

"It won't hurt to try, right?" She laughs, not even sure why the hell she's doing this. Allison's looking at her like the world's ending. Well, more of a "I can't believe you were considering it and didn't tell me" sort of look, which, in reality, is basically the same thing. Lydia didn't even know she was considering it, either. Something in her just forced her to do it, though.

"Um...okay," Scott laughs, reading out the number aloud. She copies it down into a new contact in her phone, and then her thumb hesitates over the call button.

"Thanks. I'm gonna step outside for a sec - see if I can get him." She gets up, not even bothering to look at Stiles' reaction.

So that's how she ends up calling Jackson Whittemore, and asking him to go on a date with her.


	19. Chips and Dip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys mean so much to me, you don't even know! This chapter is pretty long too - hope you enjoy :)

"Jackson. Hey, it's Lydia." She laughs uncomfortably, not sure what to say. "I, um, got your number from Scott."

"Hey, Lydia." He keeps a smooth, cool tone. She chews her lip, plucking leaves from the bush beside the steps she's sitting on. "What's up?"

"I was just…I changed my mind. About the date." She explains, swallowing thickly. This is nerve wracking.

"Oh really?" She hears the smile in his voice, and she nods, even though he's not there to see it.

"I was, uh, just thinking about it, and I decided I'd try it." She explains, giving a small laugh. "How's tomorrow for you? If you have stuff it's fine, you know, it's whatever, but-"

"-Nothing too important. Let's meet at that new Chinese restaurant downtown that just opened. Say around...seven. Sound good?" He asks, and she gulps. Is she really going through with this?

"Yeah, that's great. I'll see you then." She breathes in, smiling. It's kind of annoying that he just _demands_ without asking what she might want (she may not even _like_ Chinese food for all he knows. She does, but that's beside the point,) but she decides to get over it. It's something new, different, and that's exciting whatever the matter.

"Looking forward to it. I'm glad you changed your mind." He says, and then hangs up. She gets a sudden spurt of energy; a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

She composes herself, wipes the smile from her face, and then walks back inside, trying to act cool. They had all obviously been talking, but they shut up when she walks in. She pretends not to notice it, as she slides her phone into her pocket and slinks back against the couch. Everyone's staring at her.

"So?" Scott laughs, finally speaking up. "How'd it go?"

"We have a date tomorrow." Lydia smiles, and Allison gasps.

"Wow, Lyd, that's great!" She hugs her tightly, and Lydia's a little embarrassed about that, because it signifies that this is her first ever date. She doesn't want anyone to know that for some reason.

"Not like...not like it's a big deal or anything, you know. Just...yeah." She shrugs it off, trying to keep her cool.

"Hmm, lucky you," Ashley says, humming lowly. There was a slight attitude to it, but Lydia decides to pretend she hadn't noticed. "Jackson Whittemore."

Lydia looks for a reaction from Stiles, but he's just staring at his phone, not listening to their whole conversation.

"Yeah. He's really hot." Lydia laughs, widening her eyes and pretending to fan herself.

"Hey, can we play the movie?" Stiles asks, annoyance in his tone. God, he's such a jerk. "I'm really enjoying this cute girl time you guys are having, but I'd like to finish this movie in the next three years."

"Don't be a baby." Ashley laughs, booping his nose with her finger, and then kissing him. "You're hot when you're annoyed."

"Hmm, I'm always hot." He replies, narrowing his eyes and kissing back. Lydia could literally gag.

She plays the movie, ripping her teeth through a twizzler angrily. She props her feet up on the coffee table, and sinks back against the couch as much as she can so the arm of it blocks the sight of Ashley and Stiles' grossness.

After what seems like eternity, the second movie ends. It's almost five p.m. now, and everyone has finally gotten drawn into the movies. Not to Lydia's standards, but they like it, so that's good enough. Kind of.

"Put in the next," Stiles begs, groaning as the credits roll.

"I'm gonna go grab some chips or something. I'll be back in a sec - does anyone want anything?" Lydia laughs at their reactions; all open-mouths and whines. They all say yes, hungry as well, so she heads to the kitchen.

She has two bags of chips on her arm, dip in another hand, and she's grabbing for drinks when something startles her.

"Need help?" Stiles asks, laughing.

"Christ, how do you do that? I didn't even hear you." She gasps, tightening her grip on the food. She had almost dropped it.

"It's called grace. Something you apparently don't have." He laughs, but it's not in a rude way; he was just making a light joke. She knows that too, but she's still mad at his little comment he made earlier, so she doesn't laugh. He picks up on her mood, and clears his throat a little.

"So," He hums, grabbing the drinks for her. She's separating the cheese dip into bowls, and he's standing near her. "I like those movies better than I thought I would. Don't tell anyone."

"I think you can trust me." She replies, not even giving him a glance. He scratches his neck. She thinks about Scott's comment: _"Yeah, I think it annoys him that you don't bow down to him like the rest of the school does. He'll get over it. It's good for him."_ It's not hard for Lydia to realize that all she is to him is a challenge. Someone that, when she finally falls head over heels for him like he wants, he'll forget all about. She's not mad. She's hurt.

"Well…" He mutters, trying to think of something to say. "I'm having fun. Relatively."

"Fun? Really?" She smiles finally, making him give a smug smile and a shrug of his shoulders. He thinks he finally got to her, and it's obvious that he's proud. "Because...I don't know, maybe this is just me, but I think it's kind of a drag."

The look of realization on his face is instant. He had obviously thought she hadn't heard him say it.

"You're mad about that?" He asks, as she picks up the food and tries to walk past him. He blocks her way, and she rolls her eyes.

"Move," She tells him, but he ignores it.

"That was stupid. It was nothing." He says, laughing it off.

"Oh! That clears everything up! Thanks for that amazing explanation, I don't think I've ever heard such a detailed one in my life." She gives a fake smile, and then drops it immediately afterwards.

"Listen...that was honest to God nothing. It was just…" He bites his bottom lip, a little of his act washing away.

"I know exactly what it is. You have to act all big and bad to stay popular, right? You have to pretend like you're someone you're not, and be an ass to everyone to stay high up on the ranks. Or maybe that just is how you are - I haven't figured it out yet." She crosses her arms, looking up at him.

"You don't understand. You don't understand what it's like, okay?" He huffs, shaking his head in a "whatever" manner.

"I guess I don't understand. Maybe that's why I also can't understand why you act like a clueless airhead all the time either. That really is mind boggling to me." She laughs bitterly, throwing her hands in the air.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replies, his face blank of any emotion.

"Oh, God, you're doing it right now! I'm pretty sure this whole stupid "tough-guy-birdbrain-jock" thing you have going is all an act, okay? And I'm also pretty sure that I'm the only one who knows how smart you really are. Uh huh," She tells him, gulping and trying to fight the tears that are stinging the backs of her eyes. "And that once you're done pretending to be a nitwit, you'll eventually go off and write some insane mathematical theorem that wins you the Nobel prize."

She lets out a long breath, and they look at each other. His eyes fall to the floor, and, like always, his expression is impossible to read.

When will he finally notice that _she_ notices? She's the only one after all of these years that sees more than some jerk who walks around school like he owns it, or the star lacrosse player, or any of his other cover ups. She sees him. She sees who he really is, and she always has. She may have forgotten this is in the past few days, but now, in Allison's kitchen, her heart is pounding and she wants to cry, because she loves him more than anything. The real him.

And it hurts so bad because she always imagined that when he finally noticed her, it would all just click and he would just _know_ they should be together like she knows. But it's not happening like that, and they're fighting constantly, and he hates her, and now she's about to cry in front of him at the worst time possible.

"Fields medal." He replies in a low voice, still looking at the ground.

"W-What?" She asks, staring at him and gulping. She had just been almost positive he was going to yell at her, or storm off angrily, but he doesn't.

"Nobel isn't a prize for mathematics. The fields medal is the one I'll be winning." He looks up at her with a slight smile on his face. Relief floods her suddenly; like her ribs finally aren't suffocating her anymore. Her heart is still drumming in her ears, though, and it gets worse the longer he looks at her. She smiles back.

Ten seconds later they're still looking at each other, not sure what to say now. He opens his mouth to break the silence, and her heart can't take the anticipation of what he's going to say next. "I" is all he gets out, before Scott walks in, smiling.

"I shouldn't have left it to only you two to get all of us food; it's so much! I didn't even think about it, I'm sorry." He laughs, not suspecting anything weird. If it was anyone else, Lydia would be furious. "What can I help with?"

Lydia and Stiles glance at each other, and then Stiles takes the initiative.

"Just grab a few bowls. We have the rest." Stiles smiles, patting his back. "Thanks, dude."

"Okay, great. No problem." Scott smiles happily, grabs three bowls, and then heads back into the living room.

"I can...I'll grab the drinks. You get the chips." Lydia says while trying not to look at him, because she's breathing heavy enough as it is, and looking at him again will only make it that much worse.

"Got it." He nods, and picks up the chips. They don't talk anymore after that, they just go into the living room and hand out the snacks.

Okay yes, maybe he's not in love with her, but this a really, really good moment, and Lydia can't keep the grin off her face for the rest of the night.


	20. Butterflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for 100 comments! It means so much - you don't even know!

"So…" Scott finally mutters, the first one to say something after episode VI ends. Lydia's hiding tears, Allison's hand is over her mouth, and Stiles is just sitting there, staring at the screen. Ashley's asleep with her head on Stiles' chest. "That was good."

"Holy shit." Stiles laughs, running his hand over his hair. He sits up slightly, which makes Ashley stir in her sleep. "So it just ends like that?"

"Yes, unfortunately, it does." Lydia sighs, wanting to cry because she loves it so much. Stiles is even hotter now that he's watched it. She doesn't know how that's possible, but somehow it is.

"Okay, but there's still prequels, right?" Allison asks, chewing her lip. "Who am I kidding? If I know anything from you, it's that there are prequels."

"They aren't...like, good, though." Lydia tells them, hating to be the bearer of bad news.

"What? What do you mean?" Stiles asks; not loudly, but loud enough to wake Ashley. She sits up, rubbing her eyes and looking around. Even when she just wakes up she still looks like some kind of model. It's unfair.

"Episode III - amazing. Honestly, terrific. Like...eight out of ten, ten being Return of the Jedi. Episode II...pretty good. Hayden Christensen's acting kind of ruined things, but I'd give it...maybe a six. Episode I...a four. Five, maybe, just because it's Star Wars." She laughs, watching the credits.

"I want to finish them." He sighs, still smiling.

"How can you stand all of this nerd stuff?" Ashley yawns, and then smiles over at Lydia. "Sorry, Linda."

"Lydia." She corrects her, but she's pretty sure she doesn't hear.

"If you want, we can, um, watch those tomorrow. If you guys want to come over or something…" Allison trails off, and Scott's face lights up.

"I would love to." He replies, smiling happily. He looks like a puppy.

"Stiles?" Allison asks with a grin on her face, happy Scott said yes. "You up for it?"

"Hell yes." He answers, laughing. Then he sees Ashley's expression, and he clears his throat and looks away. "I mean...I don't think I have anything else. So yeah."

Lydia eyes practically roll into the back of her head.

"I...think I'll opt out of that one." Ashley sighs, smiling. Not like anyone really _invited_ her anyway.

"That's okay. You don't have to come if you don't want to." Allison smiles, nice as always.

"You're sure you don't want to come?" Stiles asks in a low voice, and she nods.

"I'm sure." She laughs, rolling her eyes. Lydia really, really wants to throw something at her.

"Okay, so tomorrow we'll watch episode one through three." Lydia says, standing up and yawning. "What time should we meet?"

"Hmmm. Ten-ish?" Scott asks, looking around. They all approve, and start getting up to go.

Scott and Lydia head to the kitchen, and Stiles and Ashley are talking now.

"You wanna come over?" Ashley asks, using a seductive tone. Lydia makes a mental note to try and practice that same voice, because she's pretty sure that would even work on _her._

"Not tonight, babe," Stiles tells her, keeping his voice low. Lydia awkwardly starts picking up empty wrappers from the floor just to have something to do. Going into the kitchen with Allison and Scott wouldn't be much better, she's sure.

"What? Why not?" She asks, her voice hurt. Lydia can't blame her, really. If Stiles turned her down like that, even if they were dating, she'd probably run away and never speak to anyone again.

"I don't know, Ash. I'm tired, and I have to get up tomorrow to finish Star Wars." He sighs, and Lydia's eyes widen as she takes a sip of her drink. She already knows this isn't going to end well.

"What the hell? You would rather watch these lame nerd movies than have sex with me?" She scoffs, backing away from him. Some of Lydia's drink spews out of her mouth at that, and she almost starts choking. They pretend like they don't notice, thank God.

"It's not even like that." He answers, groaning.

"What is it like, then?" She asks, her voice full of hurt.

"I'm tired. That's all." He breathes in deeply, scratching the back of his neck. Lydia's running out of fake things to do, so she starts awkwardly admiring Allison's family photos.

"I'll be on top, then," Ashley offers, and Lydia wonders how Ashley can say something like that without caring that someone else is in the room. Well, she probably would too if she was dating him. She'd flaunt it to everyone, probably even her own parents, honestly.

"Just go home, Ashley. I'll text you tomorrow." He tells her. There's silence for a second, and Lydia thinks Ashley's about to blow up on him. Any...second….

"Okay." She replies, her voice soft and low. Lydia hates herself for thinking it, but she kind of wishes they would have started fighting. "Don't forget to text me."

"I won't." He laughs. That stupid, effortless, cute laugh that Lydia could melt over because it's such a rarity from him. "Bye."

"Bye, Stiles," Ashley laughs too, and they wrap their arms around each other and kiss. For way longer than Lydia preferred, actually, but that's beside the point.

Finally they break apart, and Ashley leaves. Stiles grabs her ass on the way out, making her gasp and laugh. Lydia, as always, rolls her eyes.

"Done pretending to stare at those pictures?" Stiles asks behind Lydia, only about thirty seconds after Ashley leaves.

"I was…I wasn't pretending. These are like, great quality pictures if you ask me." Lydia crosses her arms, defending some dumb lie just so she doesn't embarrass herself.

"Hmm," He narrows his eyes, giving a vague shrug. "Believable."

"Shut up." She laughs, and accidentally knocks a book off the shelf. He walks closer, picks it up, and then slides it back into place on the bookshelf behind her head. He looks down at her and smiles, and she swallows thickly.

"Hey. I actually have a new nickname for you since you hate the other one so much." He backs up slightly, but not much.

"Really?" She gulps, but tries not to show it. "What is it?"

"Leia." He answers, staring into her eyes.

"What? Why?" She laughs, throwing her arms up so high that she almost knocks another book over. Without taking his eyes from hers, he reaches up, and secures the book back in place. God, she wants to make out with him.

"I don't know, you remind me of her. Mean, uptight...sort of a prude," He smiles, shrugging. Her mouth drops open, and then he continues. "Funny, opinionated, stubborn. Everything, really. Except she isn't a hyperactive klutz, but, other than that. Your names are even kind of the same."

"I know you're being an ass, but Leia is like...my favorite character from anything. I have about a thousand action figures from each-" She cuts herself off, pushing her lips together. "That's not something I should say out loud maybe. I realize that now."

He just laughs. A real one, too, which makes Lydia smile.

"I can't believe _the_ Stiles Stilinski likes Star Wars." She laughs, breaking the silence. It was a comfortable one, but her nerves are making her oddly energized. "Are you feeling okay?"

"About...ten hours ago, I would have agreed with you." He admits, cracking a smile. It's weird seeing him smile this much. Weird, but good. "But it's actually really cool. I wasn't expecting it to be, and that's why I wasn't really paying attention at first. But don't tell anyone I like it."

"Oh God," Lydia laughs, plopping down on the couch and looking up at him. "Like anyone would even make fun of _you._ "

" _Me?_ What does that mean?" He raises an eyebrow, curious.

"Don't pretend like you don't know." She laughs, sitting up. He sits there, waiting. She sighs. "You're popular. You could go into school Monday and say you love Star Wars, and sales the sales would somehow just...skyrocket again. You have an impact on that place, whether you know it or not."

"Yeah, but it's not all good." He admits, closing his eyes and falling into the seat behind her like he's exhausted.

"What do you mean?" She asks, her heart pounding because Stiles, the real him, is showing through again, and she knows he doesn't show that side to many people, and she's glad that she's (sort of) one of them.

"Ready to go?" Scott asks, once again not realizing that he interrupted them. Stiles looks at Lydia for a second, and then sits up.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Stiles nods, following Scott through the doorway.

"Bye, Lydia!" Scott says, walking out alongside Allison. Lydia chews on her lip, looking at the floor. Suddenly she's kind of sad, and she hates so much that he can have this much of an effect on her.

Stiles hesitates at the door, hanging behind them a bit. Then he turns around, making Lydia look over at him.

"Goodbye, Leia." He smiles, and then at the last second, winks. Her heart is thudding against her rib cage at a trillion beats per minute.

"Bye, Stiles!" She calls after him, waving even though he's turned around now. "Have a good… Don't let the-...Sleep well!"

When she hears the door finally shut, she buries her face in a pillow and screams happily. Her stomach has butterflies, and she feels like a thirteen year old again. All because of stupid Stiles Stilinski.


	21. Batman Shorts

Lydia slams her hand on her alarm clock at 9:30, groaning and throwing a pillow over her head. She set it early enough so she could get up, take a shower, and actually look decent today. Now she doesn't want to move.

She rolls out of bed, groaning her entire way downstairs to get coffee. She's rubbing her eyes and yawning as she descends the steps, slipping on one of them a little but quickly regaining her balance.

"Love the pajamas." She hears a voice, and she finally fully opens her eyes. Not this again.

"Am I dreaming?" She blushes, putting the back of her hand against her forehead.

"Why? Do you regularly dream about me?" Stiles asks, sitting on her living room floor. In what possible scenario would this be happening? It has to be a dream.

"Why the hell are you here? How did you even get into my house?" She asks, trying to see what he's doing. She almost falls over the stair rail while straining to get a good look.

"I got a text saying we had to start watching the movies earlier than ten. I'm pretty sure you got the text too, but...it's obvious you just woke up." He laughs, and she gulps. She's starting to really wake up, and it's feeling less and less like a dream.

"Okay? But why are you _here_?" She asks, still confused. He stands up, and walks towards her.

"Allison wanted to wake you up. And we needed the prequels." He shrugs, holding the three movies up, and grinding his teeth a little. "She had the keys. She's in the kitchen making coffee now."

"She knows me well." Lydia laughs awkwardly, and then his eyes scan over her. Her eyes widen as she remembers what she's wearing. It's just a plain black cami with batman shorts. No bra. And if that's not bad enough, she has on pink bunny slippers to top off the ensemble. She crosses her arms over her chest and clears her throat awkwardly.

"You don't have to cover up for me." He gives a smug smile, and she rolls her eyes at how "teenage boy" that just sounded.

"Why are we watching them early?" She asks, ignoring his comment. She's trying not to act humiliated, even though she feels it.

"Because of you." He breathes in, mirroring her by crossing his arms.

"What?" She laughs, making a face. "What did I do?"

"Your "date." Or whatever it is." He says, and her mouth drops.

"Hoooooly shit. I forgot. I guess...I got caught up in Star Wars and it completely slipped my mind. Oh God, I'm going out with Jackson Whittemore." She smiles, breathing out a laugh.

"I'm sure it'll be a real treat." He gives a fake smile, and then rolls his eyes.

"What the hell is that for?" She scoffs, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I think you know." He lets out a breath, looking annoyed. That's his go-to reaction for everything, and it pisses Lydia off so much.

"Oh my God." She rolls her eyes and groans, still holding her hands over her chest. "You make no sense."

"He's a jerk, Lydia. Don't act like you don't know that." He clenches his jaw, staring her in the eye.

"If you really want me to believe that, then answer the question I asked you the other day. Why are you friends with him? How can I believe you when he's been one of your best friends for years?" She asks, laughing bitterly.

"That's...a long story." He tells her, and for one of the first times ever, he's speechless.

"Fine. It's none of your business who I go out with anyway." She starts going upstairs, but suddenly his fingers wrap around her wrist.

"I'm just telling you to be careful." His hand is still on her wrist, and she feels like she's gonna fall over. Then he lets go, realizing, but still keeps his eyes on her. "That's all."

She looks at him for a second, knowing he's serious.

"Yeah. I will." She nods, nervously chewing on her lip. "I will."

He looks visibly relieved, and he nods. "Okay."

"Okay." She gives a small smile, and starts slowly walking up the stairs. Her foot slips on one of them, and she starts falling backwards. Her heart falls in a panic.

"Whoa," Stiles laughs, setting his hands on her waist to balance her. They look at each other, and he's smiling. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…" She laughs breathlessly, firing a finger gun at him. "I'm great. Great reflexes. Very...quick."

"Thanks." He smiles, and she's not sure if she's imagining it, but it feels like he runs his thumb across her stomach before removing his hands from her waist.

"Okay I should go…get, you know, ready." She smiles stupidly, and then clears her throat and wipes the smile from her face.

"Yeah." He responds, stepping on a lower step. He's always so calm and collected, and that throws Lydia off more than anything else. Even his looks. Well, that may be a stretch.

She turns around and goes upstairs, trying to hide her giddiness. She goes to the bathroom, and tries to calm down. He's just a guy. A smart, funny, great-looking guy. God, it's just so extremely hard to even be _around_ him. So she clears her head, and takes a shower. She has a date tonight, and she needs to focus on that.

When she's finished, she goes downstairs, and upon not seeing anyone in the living room, she goes to the kitchen.

"Oh, good morning," Allison smiles, grabbing a mug from the counter and handing it to Lydia. She notices that Scott's arm is around her. "I made you some coffee."

"Thank God." Lydia laughs, holding the mug in her hands. Stiles is sitting on Lydia's kitchen counter eating a bagel.

"I came to wake you up after I made the coffee, but Stiles said you were already up, so…" Allison says, shrugging. "I knew you wouldn't wake up when I called."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Lydia laughs, scratching her neck. "But you know I'm still not going to be able to watch episode III, right? Because of my date."

"Really? Even if we started now?" Allison complains.

"Yeah. I mean, they're almost three hours each, and I want to start getting ready at about five thirty." Lydia shrugs, kind of sad she won't be able to watch.

"Well, I don't want to watch without Lydia. Especially if she's the one who introduced us to it all in the first place." Scott speaks up, and Lydia smiles.

"Yeah, me neither. It doesn't really seem fair, especially since she said it's the best of the prequels." Stiles speaks up, and Lydia fights the urge to let her jaw drop. He's not even really being _nice,_ just...decent. But that's still something. "Let's just reschedule the last one."

"You guys really don't have to do that." Lydia smiles, leaning against a counter. Her elbow slips off, but she clears her throat and hopes no one noticed.

"We don't even _want_ to watch without you. It's settled." Allison smiles, and Stiles hops down from the counter.

"Mhmm." Stiles answers, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and (successfully) leaning against the counter. Why does he have to look so hot when just doing normal human things? "Tomorrow after lacrosse is fine with me."

"Me too." Scott smiles, and Allison's dimples show.

"That's great. I don't have work tomorrow, so it's perfect." She bites her lip.

"I...never have anything to do which actually sucks sometimes, but in this case...it's actually pretty convenient. I'm in." Lydia smiles, wishing she could shut her mouth sometimes.

"Cool." Stiles smiles slightly, and stands up.

"Well it's about ten fifteen now, so if we want to have any food breaks we should start now." Scott smiles, the way that he always smiles around Allison.

They go into the living room, and Scott and Allison sit on the couch, and Stiles and Lydia sit on the other.

"I know you said the first ones suck, but...this is still pretty exciting." Stiles laughs beside her, and she turns towards him with a smile.

"It's still good, it's just...for Star Wars it's not _that_ great." She replies, looking around the room awkwardly, just doing anything to avoid eye contact because she can feel his stare. He's so confident, and it's a little unsettling that he can look into someone's eyes and it doesn't faze him a bit. "I wish I could just, like, erase my mind sometimes so-"

"-So it would feel like it was all new again? I feel the same about my favorite books." He laughs, and she is about to ask what his favorite book is. Doesn't that tell a lot about a person? But, right as she's about to ask, the movie starts. She watches him smile at the TV, excitement written across his face. She gulps and smiles, watching him.


	22. Getting Ready

“God, I don't want to wait until tomorrow to watch the next.” Stiles laughs, biting his lip after episode II ends. “Shit.”

“I really don't want to hold you guys back from watching it. Just go ahead without me, okay? It's no big deal, I've honestly seen it about a thousand times.” She laughs, but secretly hopes they don't want to.

“Nah, it wouldn't be as fun. I wouldn't have anyone to ask my ridiculous questions.” Stiles laughs, and she takes a sharp breath and smiles, trying to think of something to say.

“I agree.” Scott laughs too, and Lydia is thanking  _ god _ someone interrupted so she doesn't have to reply to Stiles, because she knows she would say something really, really dumb, and probably never forgive herself for it. 

“Thanks guys.” She replies, smiling like an idiot. They actually  _ want  _ her there, and that feels good. “I should probably go get ready. It's almost six.” 

“Oh yeah, I should probably get going too. Ashley wants me to come over.” Stiles stands up, stretching. Lydia chews on the inside of her cheek, trying to mask her jealousy. 

“I'll come help you get ready in a second. I'll just lead them out.” Allison smiles, and Lydia's a little nervous at the fact that Stiles is  _ in her house _ . It's messy too, which is embarrassing. Oh well, they should have given a warning, right? It's not  _ her  _ fault that they came in unannounced. 

“Okay, sounds great. Bye guys.” Lydia waves at them, and they wave back. 

“Bye, Lydia.” Scott smiles, and he and Allison disappear into the kitchen. 

“Bye, Leia.” Stiles tells her, a trace of a smile on his lips as he gives a relaxed salute, pushes himself off of the wall, and walks out behind them. 

“See you,” She answers, even though she knows he doesn't hear. She heads upstairs and sits on the bed, impatiently waiting for Allison to come help her. Time goes by, and she knows she can't waste any more. So she starts curling her hair. 

“I'm so sorry. Me and Scott were making out on the front porch.” Allison sighs as she walks into the room, and Lydia smiles.

“It's fine. I curled my hair, so all I have left is makeup and outfit. Both things I literally cannot do on my own.” She laughs, breathing in nervously. 

“You look beautiful. Oh, and I know what you can wear. Just a sec.” Allison disappears again, and Lydia sits there tapping her foot against the floor. She hears a car door shut outside, and a few minutes later Allison comes back in her room. 

“What’s that?” Lydia asks, trying to figure out what Allison’s holding. 

“This…” Allison grins, unfolding it and holding it up, “Is for you.”

“What?” Lydia covers her hand over her mouth, looking at the beautiful black dress she’s clutching. It's small and sleeveless, and Lydia is scared and nervous and excited. Mostly scared.

“I love it, but I’m way too tall to wear it. It doesn’t even cover my whole ass.” She laughs, and Lydia hugs her tightly. “It’ll fit you great.”

It makes Lydia really happy that even though Allison has been caught up in her new relationship with Scott, she still remembers everything going on in Lydia’s life, when not even Lydia herself remembers sometimes. 

“Thanks, Allison. You’re the best. I was kind of worried what I was going to wear.” Lydia laughs, wiping the fake sweat off of her forehead. 

“It’s nothing, really. I was planning on giving it to you anyway, so this is the perfect time. Put it on.” Allison smiles, handing it to her. 

“It’s not going to look near as good on me as it does on you.” Lydia laughs, taking her clothes off. 

“Shut up.” Allison laughs, helping her pull the dress on. “Don't look yet. I'm going to do your makeup first.” 

“Okay.” Lydia smiles, actually starting to get pretty excited. Nervous, but excited. 

Allison sits her down on the bed, and pulls her makeup bag out of her purse. Lydia sits there as patiently as she can (which wasn't much - Allison had to keep telling her to be still) and waits for Allison to apply all of her makeup. 

“Okay, you can look.” Allison grins, and Lydia stands up happily, walking towards the mirror. Then she grabs Lydia’s arm, pulling her back. “Wait. The shoes.”

“Oh yeah,” Lydia laughs, nervously waiting for Allison to get the shoes. She hands the heels to her, and she straps them on around her ankles. 

“This is it. Ready to see how beautiful you look?” Allison laughs giddily, and Lydia nods and smiles. 

So she looks in her full length mirror. She can't even believe it's  _ her.  _

“Allison how...how did you do this?” Lydia puts her hand over her mouth, grinning. 

“You’re beautiful on your own, Lyd.” Allison puts her head on her shoulder, twirling one of Lydia’s curls between her fingers. 

“Thank you so much.” Lydia turns and hugs her, gulping. 

“No problem. I hope you have a great time.” Allison hugs her back, and then pulls away. 

“Okay.” Lydia breathes in, looking in the mirror again. “Okay. This is a little short, don’t you think?”

“You look hot!” Allison retorts, looking at Lydia in the mirror. 

“And my boobs are everywhere.” Lydia wipes her sweaty hands on her dress, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. 

“Lydia, it’s okay.” Allison laughs, sitting on the bed. “You look beautiful. You’ll have fun.”

“God, I hope so. I don’t even know what to say.” She gulps, biting her fist. “Jesus, I can’t do this.”

“You can! You’re smart, hilarious, and fun.” She tells her, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” Lydia laughs, confused at why her sudden change of tone. 

“Are you doing this to get over Stiles? Or to make him jealous?” Allison questions, her voice soft. That takes Lydia by surprise. She gulps, and then turns around. 

“He’s dating Ashley.” Is all Lydia replies, trying to act nonchalant as she fixes her hair. 

“Lydia.” Allison sighs, and Lydia stops her actions and chews on her lip. That’s all she had to say, in that sad Allison voice. It works every time.

“I don’t...I don’t know, okay?” She groans, almost breaking out into tears the first second she looks at Allison. She sits on the bed next to her, and Allison lets out a breath and puts her arm around her shoulder. 

“Lydia, it’s fine. Seriously, we all do this kind of stuff. That day at lunch you just seemed like going on a date with him would never happen. Then when I could tell it was making Stiles annoyed, I knew you must have noticed it too. I don’t blame you, you know? Pissing him off must feel really good, I get it. But bringing Jackson in on it, even if he is the biggest dick at school, is...kind of wrong. It’s not you, Lydia. And Jackson seemed like he really wants this.” Allison says softly, and Lydia nods.

“I know. I just thought...I don’t even know what I thought. I didn’t think for one second Jackson would ever actually like me, or that this date would end well. I didn’t even consider the possibility, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. I actually didn’t even mean to say yes. Ashley was just making me look like a dumbass by asking if I was single, and I had to come up with  _ something. _ I know it’s wrong, but I couldn’t stop when I realized how aggravated it made Stiles.” Lydia laughs quietly, and bites her lip. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, Jackson’s a dick anyway. You probably won’t even want to go on another date, you know? Just...don’t lead him on, is all. You’ll be fine. It’ll be fun. People go on dates all the time - it doesn’t have to lead to something else if you don’t want it to.” Allison tells her, already making her feel better like always. “Just try not to think of Stiles, okay? Have a good time.”

“I really will try. And it’s not...I don’t think he’s actually jealous at all. I think it’s just the fact that he thinks I’m just about the only person in the school that doesn’t want him, and it annoys him. It just, like, gives me the best feeling when he’s annoyed about it, and I know it really hits a nerve when I talk about Jackson. It’s fun.” Lydia smiles, and Allison laughs and bumps her arm. 

“I understand. For the record, I think he’s jealous. Even if he doesn’t know it.” Allison smiles, and so does Lydia.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lydia waves her off with a laugh, standing up. “I should go.”

“Okay.” Allison stands up, looking excited. “Hey, do you mind if I stay over here tonight? Mom and Dad aren’t coming back until tomorrow, and I was so paranoid last night. Also I want to be the first to hear about the date.” 

“God,  _ please. _ ” Lydia replies, grabbing her keys and wallet. “That would be great. And I want to hear all about how you and Scott are doing.”

“Definitely.” Allison hugs her, giving her one last goodbye. “You’ll be amazing. I’ll just stay here until you get back. Have fun.”

“I will.” Lydia pulls back, laughing. “I’ve got this.”

“Yes, you do.” Allison nods, patting her back. 

“I’m gonna go. Bye.” Lydia laughs, slowly walking out of her bedroom. Allison says goodbye, and a few seconds down the hallway, Lydia stops in her tracks. 

“I can’t do it,” She tells Allison, walking back into the room in a panic. “I can’t go.”

“I was expecting this to happen at least once.” Allison grins, and walks with her down the stairs, and to the front door. “This is just a boy. You’ll be fine, Lyd. Woman up.” 

“Just a boy.” Lydia nods, closing her eyes and breathing in. “I can do this. Just a boy.”

“Exactly. Now go get ‘em.” Allison tells her, patting Lydia’s back as she opens the front door and steps out. 

Lydia takes a deep breath and smiles, walking towards her car. She’s distracted by the fact that she’s about to fall over in her heels, until something catches her attention from the corner of her eye. She looks up, and before she even realizes anything’s wrong, her shins bump hard into the front bumper of Allison’s car. Stiles is walking up her driveway, running his fingers through his hair to keep it in place. She presses her hands against the hood, trying to hide the pain that’s shooting through her legs. He hasn’t noticed her yet. 

“Shit,” She whimpers under her breath, trying to pretend she’s not in pain. Stiles is flipping his key ring around his finger, when he finally looks up and locks eyes with her. He looks a little stunned for a second, which isn’t a face often seen on him. It looks good, of course. 

“Leia,” He smiles, walking up toward her. She backs up from the car, and tries to hide the pain that she’s sure is showing in her face. 

“Hi,” She smiles, leaning against the car with her hip. That’s definitely going to bruise.  “What...What are you, um, doing here?”

He looks her up and down. Not necessarily in a  _ gross  _ way, just in a “is this really Lydia Martin?” way. It feels good. 

“I forgot my phone.” He finally looks up at her, running his thumb across his bottom lip. She gulps.

“Oh. Well I have to go, but you can just…let yourself in. Allison’s upstairs.” She tells him, laughing and almost tripping again. She quickly regains balance, praying to God he didn’t notice. 

“Thanks.” He nods, giving a small smile. “Have a good date.”

“I, uh...I will.” She waves after him as he walks towards her front door. She closes her eyes and finally takes a breath, and then opens the door of her car. 

“Lydia?” She hears, making her turn her head and almost bump her forehead on her door.

“Yeah?” She replies, looking at Stiles. He said her name.

“You look good.” He nods, and then walks inside. No smile, no laugh, no nothing. Just a nod. 

She nods back, knowing if she opened her mouth she would never stop talking. Her hands are shaking the entire way to the restaurant, and she can’t focus. She shouldn’t have said yes to Jackson, because she knows she’ll only be thinking about Stiles the whole time. She can’t stop smiling. 


	23. Jackson Whittemore

“Can I get a table for two? I'm meeting someone here soon.” Lydia smiles at the waitress, and she nods and takes her to a table.

“Oh there you are.” She hears a voice, and she turns her head and sees Jackson standing up from a seat. He turns to the waitress, and with his charming smile, he says, “She's with me. Thank you.”

“No problem. I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order.” The waitress smiles back, and Lydia gulps and walks towards Jackson's table. 

He’s wearing a nice outfit, of course, and he’s early. Even earlier than her.

“Hi,” She smiles, sitting down across from him in a booth. 

“Hey, Lydia.” He glances over her, but not in the way Stiles did. His way was a little discomforting. She can’t say anything though, really, because she’s looking at him the same way. He looks like he’s been sculpted by the Gods. 

“How long have you been here?” She asks, setting her purse down and exhaling as she brushes her hair back. 

“Not long.” He shrugs, smiling. 

“Okay,” She laughs, and then clears her throat. “So do you know what you’re gonna order?” 

“Yes. The orange chicken with a side of wonton soup.” He smiles, setting his menu down. 

“Sounds great. I think I’m going to get the, um…” She scans the menu, and then looks up at him. “The sesame chicken. With fried rice.” 

“Great. Here comes the waitress now.” He replies, sitting up straighter. 

She’s not sure how she’s feeling about this yet. Is this how dates are supposed to go? It’s hard to tell since she’s never been on one. It seems like it's going pretty well though. 

They order their food, and the waitress takes their menus and brings back their drinks a few minutes later. 

“So,” Jackson says, sitting back in his seat and looking at her. “How has your weekend been?”

“Um, it’s been good,” She breathes out, trying to relax. It’s hard to look at him. “We’ve been watching Star Wars all weekend.”

“We? Who?” He asks, and she has to give it to him; he actually seems interested in what she has to say. She hopes it's not an act. 

“Me, Allison, Scott, and Stiles,” She explains, taking a sip of her soda.

“I didn’t realize you guys were all friends.” He narrows his eyes, looking slightly confused. 

“We aren’t.” She laughs, trying to think of a way to elaborate. “Well, I don’t know, maybe we are. It’s...Scott and Allison are together now. Me and Allison were going to watch Star Wars this weekend, and she wanted to hang out with Scott, but she didn’t want to ditch me. Stiles tagged along with Scott. So we went over to Allison’s house yesterday and watched the originals, and this morning they all came over and we watched two of the prequels. We’re going to finish the last some other time.”

“Oh okay,” He nods, and she has to take a deep breath because she was rambling on way longer than was necessary. “That’s cool. I like Star Wars.”

“You do?” Lydia almost chokes on her drink, so she sets it down on the table. 

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. My favorite is Return of the Jedi. Although, I haven’t seen them all in a while so don’t judge me too harshly on that.” He laughs, and her mouth drops. 

“That’s my favorite too!” She answers, not believing it. He seems a lot different than she thought he would be. “And I’m not just saying that to...you know, agree with you. It really is my favorite; ask Allison.”

“I believe you.” He laughs, swirling his straw around in his drink. “I don’t want to do any of this until I apologize.”

“What do you mean?” She asks, suddenly confused. 

“I was being a total dick to you the other day at lunch. I don’t want it to be like that.” He tells her, letting his guard down enough to look down at the table and scratch the back of his neck. Maybe she misjudged him. 

“It’s...it’s okay. Let’s just forget about that.” She smiles, and he reaches over and puts his hand on hers. 

“Thanks. I’ve been worried about that. I really got off on the wrong foot with you and I’m sorry.” He laughs nervously (Jackson Whittemore can get nervous?), and smiles at her. 

“No problem.” She gulps, and smiles back. Even something horrible could sound amazing while looking at that face. It’s a little unfair, but at least this time it  _ isn’t _ horrible. It’s oddly...nice.

“How has Stiles been? I know you two don’t get along very well.” Jackson laughs, taking a sip of his drink. 

“Actually...we've been getting along a little better. Not much, but we've made some progress.” She tells him, laughing a little. “How do you know we don't get along. Has he...you know, said anything about me?”

“Hmm. Not much.” He shrugs, tilting his head as he looks at her.

“Not much is still something, right?” She laughs and gulps; trying to make it seem like she it doesn't matter. It does. 

“I don’t know, the other day in the locker room he was just saying you were kind of annoying, is all. That’s about it.” He tells her, sighing. She feels...horrible. Sick. Angry. Upset. Sad. Would he really say that? Of course she knows he can be a dick, but really? In front of the whole lacrosse team? “I took up for you if it helps.”

“It doesn’t matter. He...he doesn’t matter.” She laughs, forcing herself not to cry. “We don’t really know each other, anyway. And I think he’s annoying too.”

“We all know how he is, Lydia. No one listens to him when he says that kind of stuff.” He says, and reaches across the table to put his hand on hers. 

“Thanks for...taking up for me.” She licks her lips, and tries not to think about Stiles in the locker room, talking shit about her. She doesn’t want to think about him. 

“Don’t thank me,” He shakes his head, looking in her eyes. It’s so hard to look away from him. He smiles, and then looks down at her lips. Her heart starts racing, and she doesn’t know what to do. She should've asked Allison before she left.

“Ready for your food?” The waitress asks, making Lydia jolt and knock her out of her daydream. Jackson oddly doesn't seem fazed by the surprise. 

“Yes. Thank you.” Jackson smiles at her, and she almost drops one of the plates. Lydia can't really blame her at all; he's beautiful. 

“Oh, I'm sorry.” The waitress laughs, shaking her head like she can't believe that just happened. “Here you go.”

Now both of their plates are sitting in front of them, and they're steaming hot.

“Thank you so much.” Lydia smiles, and Jackson nods at her with a smile as well.

“No problem.” She says, and then walks away.

“This looks good.” Lydia laughs, taking her fork out of her napkin. 

The rest of the night is good. Not  _ great _ like she always imagined her first date would be, but good. Fun. They go watch a movie, and he holds her hand during it. It's sweaty, but he says he doesn't mind. 

Jackson is almost nothing like she thought he would be. He's funny, and nice, and not as cocky as she always thought. She's glad she decided to go. 

Now they're at her car, and she knows what's coming. This is a date. People normally kiss on dates, right? Oh, God. Her first kiss will be with Jackson Whittemore. This is like one of those unreal movies that is just so unbelievable and unrealistic that everyone just wants to roll their eyes. But it’s happening to her somehow. 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” She tries to lean against her car in a cool way, but she knows it probably doesn’t look natural at all. 

“Yeah,” He smiles, and walks closer to her. Her breath catches. God, how the hell do you kiss someone? What if it all goes wrong? He obviously has so much experience, and she’s never had  _ any.  _ At all. “I’ll call you.”

“You don’t have to,” She laughs awkwardly, swallowing thickly the closer he gets to her. His face is only inches from hers now, and he keeps glancing down at her lips. “If you don’t want to go out again, it’s fine. I’d rather you not lie to me about it. It won’t, you know, hurt my feelings.”

“It wouldn’t be a lie at all. I want to go out with you again. I had a great time.” He says in a low, quiet voice. She gulps again, and bites her lip.

The light in the parking lot is flickering, as Jackson slides his hand around her neck. His eyes stay on her lips, and his thumb brushes across her chin while he gets closer. Her heart is racing as he closes his eyes, and presses his lips to hers. Her back is against the car now, and his hands are holding her face. The kiss is gentle and warm, and it feels nice. 

“That was good.” She laughs, looking up at him with a smile as he pulls away. She's trying to act normal, but she's all smiles and she knows it's probably freaking him out. 

“Yeah, it was.” He steps back, smiling too. “You look amazing tonight. I couldn't help but kiss you.”

“I'm glad you did.” She replies, having to clear her throat. 

“Me too.” He tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear, and then puts his hand on her hip. She feels a little weird, but this might be a first date experience, so she lets it slide. “Anyway, it's getting late. I should go. Goodnight, Lydia.”

“Goodnight.” She replies, watching him walk to his car. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” He laughs, and then gets in his car. She gets in hers too, and then watches him drive away. She smiles widely and presses her forehead against the steering wheel, thinking about the whole night. Her first date. 

“So it was good, though? I can't believe he kissed you!” Allison laughs, lying in bed next to Lydia about twenty minutes after the date ended.

“It was good, yeah. I liked it. Him being really hot doesn't hurt, either.” She laughs, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Yeah, I'm sure.” Allison laughs, and they both sigh. 

“There's something else.” Lydia whispers, and Allison sits up and looks at her. 

“What?” Allison asks, curiosity and worry written across her face suddenly. 

Lydia breathes in, and then tells her about what Jackson said about Stiles in the locker room. She pretends it's nothing, but quickly realizes how stupid that is considering the fact that Allison can see right through her. 

“I tried not to think about him, I really did. But I… _ can't _ stop thinking about him. It's stupid, especially since he said that about me. I hate it.” She admits, taking a deep breath. 

“It's okay. If you can get over him, it won't be overnight. I do think it's good you're going out with Jackson - it's a great start. But...I am sorry Stiles said that.” She sighs, and puts her arm around her for comfort. 

“It's no biggie. He hasn't even noticed me for years, so him talking shit about me doesn't hurt much worse.” She laughs, feeling a lump in her throat. “But hey, what's going on with you and Scott?”

“We’re great.” She replies, instantly grinning and showing her dimples. Just the mention of his name can make her light up. “We text a lot. We kiss a lot.”

“Anything more?” Lydia nudges her, and Allison covers her face with her hands. 

“Not yet. He's so...respectable. I think he's scared to.” She laughs, biting her lip. “I really, really like him.”

“Everyone thinks you guys are adorable. Especially me.” 

“Thanks.” Allison replies, and they both sigh. “I'm happy.”

And they leave it at that. They're both awake for a little while longer, thinking about the past weekend and how surreal it's been. Lydia goes to sleep going over the kiss between her and Jackson. But when she's right on the edge of sleep, no longer able to fight her thoughts, she realizes she's imagining it was Stiles instead. 


	24. Go With the Flow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's pretty long. Hope you like it :)

“What do you think is going to happen? Like what do I even do? Are we supposed sit together at lunch again, or is that too soon?” Lydia bites her lip nervously as they walk into school.

“Just go with the flow; don't think about it too much. Just sit down, and if he likes you enough, he'll do the rest.” Allison shrugs, and Lydia rolls her eyes.

“Okay, Allison, not every guy is as good as Scott, so just...forget I asked. I'm pretty sure Scott McCall is the only boy that's even nice in this school, so-”

“What about me?” Scott walks up to them with his hands in his pockets, smiling.

“Oh. I was just saying that, you know, you're a good guy.” Lydia shrugs, and he laughs. She's nervous because she knows that wherever Scott is, Stiles is always close behind.

“Thanks, Lydia.” He laughs, and then looks at Allison.

“Hey,” He smiles at her, and she says it back. They hold hands and kiss, and Lydia is just standing there pretending to be deeply interested in the ceiling.

Then, when looking around, she sees Stiles. He’s walking down the hall with some of his lacrosse teammates, but he seems like he’s looking for someone. Ashley, Lydia guesses. He stops looking when his eyes land on Lydia. She quickly turns away and pretends she doesn't notice, and starts talking to Scott and Allison. She’s still annoyed at him for what he said in the locker room.

“Hey, guys,” Stiles says, looking around at the three of them. It’s only a few seconds later when Ashley walks up, and Stiles puts his arm around her. Allison and Scott say hi to them, but Lydia just chews on the inside of her cheek. She doesn’t even want to look at him.

“So how was the date last night, Lydia?” Scott asks, and they all look at her.

“It was...great. I had a really good time. I think we’re going to do it again this weekend.” She nods and smiles, not even having to fake her happiness. That feels good, at least.

“Well...did you get some?” Ashley blurts out, and looks at everyone thinking that they're all wondering the same thing. Lydia laughs uncomfortably and scratches her neck. She doesn’t even dare to look at Stiles.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” She shrugs, making them all laugh. Then the bell rings, and she lets out a really, really long (relieved) breath.

“See you guys at lunch.” Scott kisses Allison's cheek, and then he and Ashley walk off together. They have the same first period, and Allison, Lydia, and Stiles walk together because they have the same first period.

“So how was he?” Stiles asks, walking to catch up with Lydia.

“He was good.” She answers, nodding her head. She gave enough to not seem entirely rude, but not enough for the conversation to keep going. She's pretty sure he senses her annoyance with him, so he keeps quiet after that. For a few minutes, at least.

“When do you want to watch episode III? I’m dying to see it. Especially since it's your favorite of the prequels - it must be good.” He laughs, knocking his arm against hers.

It is  _ so freaking hard _ to be mad at him.

“Uhh, it's up to you guys.” She looks up at him, and then turns her head to look down the hall again. Allison is grinning at her phone, most likely texting Scott. This is unfair.

“Well if it was up to me, I would have skipped today and watched. But Scott wasn't up for that.” He laughs as they walk into the classroom. "Sometimes I wish he weren't so responsible."

"We can all talk about the time at lunch, I guess. When we're all together." She bites her lip and nods, parting away from him to get to her seat. She can feel his eyes on her for a second, but by the time she sits down, he's already turned around and getting in his own seat.

"Do you think I should ask him if he actually said that?" Lydia whispers to Allison, who sets her phone down and looks at her. “I don’t want to be a dick to him if he didn’t really say it. But then again, it does sound like something he would say.”

"Well...do you think Jackson would have lied?" Allison asks, biting her lip as the bell rings again.

"I don't know," Lydia groans, earning a few odd glances. She rolls her eyes and turns back to Allison. "I don't want to believe Stiles would say that. But I also don't want to believe Jackson would lie about it, either. This is actually going decently well, and I don't want to ruin that."

"Think of it this way," Allison starts, and narrows her eyes in thought. "If he really did lie about Stiles saying that, it's a lie whether you believe it or not. So I think you should ask Stiles. Confront him. It can't hurt."

"I don't even want to know the truth. God, this sucks major d-"

"Miss Lydia, please pay attention while I'm teaching." Mrs. Sanders says, and everyone's suddenly staring at Lydia, who slinks back against her seat in embarrassment.

Second and third period eventually pass, and then it's lunch time. Lydia is dreading it.

Scott meets Lydia in the cafeteria, but neither Stiles or Jackson are anywhere to be seen. Which, Lydia decides, she is pretty content with.

Scott, Lydia, and Allison are all sitting at a lunch table, and that's when Stiles and Ashley approach them and sit down. Lydia curses under her breath.

"So, when should we watch episode III?" Stiles asks once more, actually looking excited. Lydia tries to ignore how cute it is.

"Tonight is fine with me if it is with you guys," Allison offers, smiling her radiant smile. "I don't have to work until tomorrow."

"That's good with me." Scott replies, smiling just as big.

"Me too," Stiles agrees, and then, like clockwork, they all look over at Lydia. She's not liking this new routine.

"Um, yeah." She nods, stabbing her fork into a grape from her plate. "Tonight's great."

"What's tonight?" Jackson asks, appearing next to Lydia and sitting down. He kisses her cheek, and tells her hi. She tries not to blush.

"Star Wars. Episode III - last one we have to watch," Lydia laughs, biting her lip. Then she looks back down at her plate, and it takes a second to hit her. "You should come, Jackson."

"Yeah, that's a good idea! You should. It's at my house - I don't mind." Allison agrees, and Jackson waves them off.

"Nah, that's you guys' thing. I wouldn't want to intrude." He insists, but Lydia completely refuses to be the only single one there again. It's awful.

"Jackson please come?" Lydia pleads, being bold and grabbing his hand. "It would mean a lot."

"I mean...lright," He shrugs and sighs, throwing his arm around Lydia and pulling her closer to him. "What time?"

"Uhh, I guess just after lacrosse practice." Scott smiles widely, and Lydia discreetly catches a glimpse of Stiles. He's gulping down his drink, not listening to a word they're saying. She rolls her own eyes and turns back to focus on Scott. "That's when everyone gets out, I guess. Lydia and Allison can come to practice if they want so they don't have to just wait around for us at Allison's house."

"That sounds great." Allison grins, and Lydia gulps. This is all weird for some reason, but she can't pinpoint why exactly.

"Okay. It's settled then." Jackson nods, and holds onto Lydia's waist. Her and Stiles make eye contact for a split second, before he looks away. 

A few minutes later the bell rings. For once, classes actually pass quickly, and it's because she doesn't want to go to lacrosse practice. Time is so annoying. 

“You don’t mind watching us play? I’m sure it can be kind of boring.” Jackson holds Lydia’s hand on the way to the lacrosse field. Stiles didn’t hang back with them today, he went ahead with the team. Lydia isn’t sure how to feel about that. Is it because of her? Is he suddenly mad at her for some unknown reason? Did he realize how much he really hates her, and wants to never see her again? Or is she just being dramatic, and him going ahead with his team is all it really is, nothing more? 

More importantly, why is Stiles the only thing she can think of even when she’s with Jackson?

“No, it’s fine. Sports are...I like them.” She laughs, shrugging. It’s only  _ half  _ the truth. It’s not that she doesn’t  _ like  _ sports per se, it’s more of the fact that her hyperactive clumsiness prevents her from playing. She likes watching okay, though.

“Good.” He puts his arm around her waist, and it’s all surreal. She keeps having to remember that this isn’t a dream. She is actually walking through school with Jackson Whittemore. Not even just  _ with _ him; he has his arm around her waist. 

“I'll be back.” Jackson kisses Lydia's forehead, and then jogs off onto the field. Halfway there, he pulls his shirt off, and tosses it on the ground. She bites her lip and sits back, watching them play. She could get used to this. 

“Stiles is playing extra well today. I wonder if he’s...angry about something,” Allison sighs, pretending to be deep in thought. “Maybe a particular girl dating a particular boy while he actually likes her and is pretending not to. That’s just a completely wild guess, though. Out of the blue, actually.” 

“Stop,” Lydia laughs, bumping Allison’s arm with her own. “ _ You’re _ the one trying to make me get over him, so you aren’t helping my case at all.”

“I know, but I can’t help it.” She laughs, laying her head on Lydia’s shoulder. “Can you believe this is happening to us? I’m going out with Scott McCall. You’re going out with Jackson Whittemore,  _ and  _ you’re friends with Stiles. Junior year is going great so far.” 

“It’s like a dream, you know? It doesn’t even feel real.” Lydia agrees, sighing. That’s when coach blows the whistle, signifying a break. 

Lydia, as if on queue, gets nervous as she watches the whole team make their way towards them. Allison’s eyes are only on Scott, and Lydia has to force herself to look at Jackson and not at Stiles. 

Scott smiled as he sat beside Allison, and Lydia took in a sharp breath as Jackson sat beside her. He dabbed the sweat off of his face and neck with his shirt that he picked up from the field on the way back. 

“I’m thirsty,” He sighs, and Lydia literally  _ cannot breathe  _ because he’s so hot, and shirtless, and sweaty, and he’s sitting right beside her. So close, actually, that his arm is even touching her. 

“When’s, uh...when’s your first game?” She asks, trying really hard to look at him. It’s too difficult, though, so she turns and looks ahead at the field. 

“Couple of weeks.” He shrugs after taking a huge gulp of his gatorade, and then Stiles cuts in.

“Next Friday.” He says, and Lydia’s eyes fall on him. He’s sweating like crazy too, and he’s looking at Jackson as he grabs the back of his shirt, and pulls it over his head.

Lydia has to immediately look away, because she knows if she sees him, she won’t be able to think of anything else for about an hour. So she looks at Jackson. That’s hard too, but it’s better than Stiles. She would not be able to focus if she saw Stiles’ veiny forearms, his sweaty abs, or the way his shorts hang lower on his hips when he runs his fingers through his hair, and  _ oh God  _ she didn’t even look at him and she still can’t focus. 

“Yeah. Not this Friday, but the one after.” Danny says, and Lydia thanks God someone other than the two hottest people in Beacon Hills is finally talking to her. But, of course, Danny is shirtless too. She pushes her lips together and tries to ignore how hot she is right now. 

“Okay, cool,” She breathes out and gulps, hoping that no one notices how heavy her breath is. 

“I hope you can make it. It’ll be nice to know I have my own personal cheerleader.” Jackson smiles at her, and tucks one of her curls behind her ear. 

“Oh yeah, I’ll come,” She laughs, turning to look at him. He looks in her eyes, and then his eyes glance down at her lips. “You have to promise you’ll win, though.”

“Oh, I will.” He smirks, and leans in closer. Right as they’re about to kiss, coach blows the whistle. They pull apart with a laugh, he kisses her cheek, and then goes back to the field. She’s actually pretty glad they didn’t have a real kiss in front of all of these people.

Lydia looks for Stiles, but it takes her a second to find him because he’s already in the middle of the field. She didn’t even notice him walk away from the bleachers, and she doesn’t even know when he did. 

After practice Lydia and Allison go back to Allison’s house. They tidy everything up, grab snacks, and then wait for everyone to come over. The guys all wanted to take showers and get dressed, and Lydia’s guessing Stiles is going to pick up Ashley. 

They sit in nervous anticipation on the couch, waiting to hear the first knock on the door. 


	25. Episode III

Scott and Stiles arrive together. At the door, Stiles is holding two pizzas and texting on his phone with his free hand. 

“Where's Ashley? Is she coming later?” Allison asks, and Lydia's glad she did because she didn't exactly want to be the one to ask. 

“Nah, she was busy. Couldn't come.” Stiles sighs, slipping his phone in his pocket and setting the pizza boxes on the table. 

“I told Stiles not to get pizza - we had it the other day, I know, but he insisted.” Scott laughs, and sets a pack of drinks on the counter next to the boxes.

“It's impossible to get tired of pizza.” Lydia sighs contently, breathing in the heavenly scent. 

“See?  _ She _ gets it.” Stiles winks at her, and then puts his arm around Scott’s shoulders. “I’m ready to start this movie.”

Lydia goes to grab plates, and tries to ignore the pounding heartbeat in her chest. This is ridiculous. 

“Me too. We have to wait for Jackson, though. He’ll be here any minute.” Allison says, grabbing the cups. Lydia looks at Stiles, trying to see if Allison’s assumptions were right. Maybe he’s jealous. But when she looks at him, he has his normal expression, and she immediately realizes how stupid she was being to think that. 

“I’ll get it!” Lydia says, almost knocking over the plates while as she hears three taps on the door. She rushes to it, fixes her hair quickly, and smiles as she opens the door. 

“Hey,” He smiles his perfect smile, showing his perfect teeth. He’s leaning against the doorway, and Lydia suddenly wants to kiss him again. Her mind has been buzzing nonstop about everything going on lately, that she never stopped to think about how much she  _ really  _ enjoyed that kiss. 

“Come in. We have pizza.” She moves to the side, biting her lip and letting her outstretched arm show him the way. 

“Great,” He nods, walking ahead of her. They all say hello; surprisingly even Stiles. Maybe she’s just imagining Stiles and Jackson’s ongoing tension lately. Besides, it’s probably just some stupid fight, anyway; they’ve been friends for years. She’s pretty sure she’s been imagining a lot of things lately. 

“Everyone get food, and then we can go start the movie.” Allison smiles, and Lydia can’t contain her excitement. Finally she’s watching Star Wars, and actually likes it.

Lydia hands Jackson a plate, and they all take turns grabbing a few slices of pizza and a drink. Finally they all get settled on the couches. It's awkward, though, because Stiles gets there first and takes the small couch, and there isn't enough room for Lydia, Jackson, Scott, and Allison on the other one.

"Oh," He clears his throat and stands up, laughing awkwardly as he notices their predicament. "Sorry. I guess I'm used to sitting there - I didn't even think about it."

"Don't worry about it, man," Jackson laughs, patting him on the back as they pass each other. Lydia chews on her cheek as her and Jackson sit on the small couch, and Stiles sits next to Allison on the big one. "That was actually an easy fix," Jackson says, shaking his head. "I have a perfectly good lap."

That was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, though they all pretended like they hadn't. Lydia didn't know which was more embarrassing; them pretending like they hadn't heard it, or the horrible awkwardness that would have emerged if one of them had actually commented on it.

"Man," Lydia snaps, and laughs awkwardly. "We missed our chance. Maybe next time we're all in a room and there aren't enough seats."

"Is the movie in?" Stiles asks, before Jackson could reply to Lydia. His tone isn't rude, exactly, just...abrupt.

"Uh, yeah," Lydia nods at him, and grabs the remote from the side table, pressing play. "I put it in before you guys got here."

"Great." He tells her, but he's staring directly at Jackson. She widens her eyes a little, terrified a fight is going to break out any second. That would almost be better than this. Almost.

She makes a mental note to ask Jackson what they're fighting about next time they're one-on-one. She also needs to ask Stiles if he really did talk about how annoying she is. Also why he told her to be careful around Jackson. She could understand why before they were going out, but he seems harmless enough now. She can see that the whole 'tough guy' thing is a popularity act just like Stiles'. But then again, Stiles does know him better than anyone. Wow, she is really not going to remember to ask all of this.

"My favorite part is when-" Jackson starts to say, as the opening credits roll up with the famous Star Wars theme playing.

"Shhhh!" Stiles hushes him from across the room, and Lydia gasps.

"Stop!" She exclaims, half laughing. "They haven't seen these."

"Oh yeah," Jackson laughs too, shaking his head. "My bad."

Stiles breathes in deeply, and leans in closer to the TV to read the words. Lydia pushes her lips together, and tries to ignore the horrible atmosphere in the room.

In the middle of the movie, right before Lydia knows things are really starting to get good, she pauses it.

"Okay," She says, standing up. "Everyone - now is the time to get food, drink, or go to the bathroom. I refuse to let anyone even glance away from the TV after this point, so don't take this break for granted. Go."

"I'm gonna go get drinks. Wanna come?" Lydia asks Jackson, reaching her hand out. He grabs it, and pulls himself off the couch.

"My pleasure." He replies, snaking his arm around her waist.

Scott and Allison disappear upstairs (probably to get a quick makeout session in), and Stiles goes to the bathroom. Lydia takes the last gulp of her Coke, tosses it in the trash, and then grabs a new one from the fridge and pops it open. It makes a hissing sound, and she takes a sip before setting it down on the counter.

"Do you want something?" Lydia asks, gulping as Jackson makes his way towards her. He just leans against the counter next to her, but it's still close and he's still hot and this still doesn't feel real at all. "Like...a drink. A snack. We have chips, and dip, and oh, yeah, I think my mom got some, uh...." She sputters; her trail of thought disappears into thin air, because Jackson is staring at her lips, and licking his own. "She got some..." Her voice trails off into a whisper, and she swallows thickly. "She got s-something."

"Oh yeah?" He whispers back, pulling his strong arm around her waist and clenching his jaw like he always does. All Lydia can do is nod like an idiot. He uses his free hand to rub his thumb against her neck. “What’s something?”

“No idea,” She breathes out of her mouth because her breath is already shallow. She grips his shirt in her fists, pulls him closer, and kisses him. So then he cups her face in his left hand, and pulls her body against his with his arm. It feels good to be this close to someone.

He kisses her softly but passionately; just barely moving his lips against hers. Her back is pressed against the edge of the counter, and their bodies are flush against each others. She can taste the fizz of Coke still on her lips, and the sunset is pouring through the open window beside them, letting the smell of chlorine from the neighbors pool completely encapsulate the end of summer in one perfect moment.

His fingers start inching under her shirt and touching her bare back right as they hear a loud thumping sound. They pull away from each other then, and Lydia runs her thumb over her bottom lip, still breathing heavily. Stiles is there, leaning over to pick up what he had dropped. His phone. How could the graceful Stiles ever drop his phone?

"You guys look like you're having fun," He shrugs, sliding his phone down into his pocket. Then he pops a few jelly beans in his mouth. "I guess I'll leave you to it. Didn’t mean to interrupt."

Jackson opens his mouth to say something, something probably passive aggressive, Lydia is sure, but she interrupts. 

“No, it’s okay. We should finish the movie anyway.” Lydia laughs, licking her lips and grabbing Jackson’s hand. He sighs, and follows her into the living room. Stiles follows behind. They all sit in their seats awkwardly, and Lydia twirls her fingers around a loose thread on her jeans. They all know what Scott and Allison are doing upstairs, and that makes it even more awkward. 

“I think you should start coming to practice every day now. I like seeing you in the stands.” Jackson tells Lydia, pulling her closer to him. “If you want to, of course.”

“Yeah, I...I’d love to.” Lydia smiles at him, and he puts his arm around her shoulder, and presses a kiss right under her ear. Stiles is silent across the room on the other couch, texting on his phone. 

“Good,” Jackson whispers softly against her skin, and she gulps and blinks heavily. She can’t even think about anything other than the fact that his lips are so soft, and his breath is so warm. 

Just then, Scott and Allison stumble downstairs grinning and fixing their hair. Dear God.

“Everyone ready?” Allison asks semi-breathlessly, sitting down on the couch. 

“Yeah,” Lydia has to catch her own breath, too. “We have been for like ten minutes.”

Allison just laughs at that, and Lydia plays the movie. She curls up on the couch next to Jackson, laying her head on his shoulder. 

“I told you it was good!” Lydia sits up, grinning at Stiles’ reaction. 

“It just all fell together like a puzzle piece, you know? Like the whole Anakin-to-Vader transition was amazing. Wow.” Stiles laughs, running his fingers through his hair. “I think I could watch that a thousand times.”

“See?! Who’s the nerd now?” Lydia throws a pillow at him, laughing. 

“Still you.” He laughs too, and throws it back at her. Jackson catches it, though, and Lydia’s smile fades. Stiles notices, but doesn’t care. “I can’t believe Anakin did all of that.”

“I think it’s interesting,” Jackson butts in, shrugging his shoulders. “The dark side - the power. It’s...what’s the word...fascinating.” 

“What?” Scott laughs, and Allison smiles at him like he’s her world. “No way. The dark side is horrible; there’s nothing interesting about it. It ruined Anakin.”

“I agree,” Lydia nods, pulling her knees up and putting her arm around them. “Anakin had a choice, and he chose the wrong one. Take Luke for example - he was tempted. He chose the right way, though; realizing power doesn’t matter if you aren’t helping someone.”

“Exactly,” Stiles agrees, and Lydia doesn’t admit it out loud, but she can’t wait to hear what he has to say. He’s so smart. “I knew from episode II that it was too late for him. When he went into that village and slaughtered those Tusken Raiders. His anger was overpowering him; it was like he didn’t even have control anymore. That’s the second I could see him as Vader. He was too weak.”

Lydia bites her lip. Jesus Christ he’s hot when he talks about Star Wars. Get a grip, Lydia. 

“Yeah, I agree with you.” Allison says, nodding her head. They go on to talk about it more, before Allison looks at her phone.

“My parents are coming home soon.” She sighs, biting her lip. 

“It’s okay. We should get going anyway, we have homework.” Scott smiles, and stands up. Jackson stands up too, and Lydia follows suit. 

Stiles and Scott hang out in the kitchen with Allison, and Lydia follows Jackson out to his car. His beautiful sports car. The sun is set now, with the last light shining orange over the trees in Allison’s neighborhood. She could hear the humming of bugs. The sound of summer. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jackson leans against his car, biting his lip and letting out an obvious exhale as his eyes wash over her lustfully. She inhales sharply, and nods her head.

“Sometimes there’s benefits to going to school, I guess,” She shoots her finger guns at him, along with the ‘pew pew’ sounds, and he stands up straight. He doesn’t smile; he keeps a straight face as he looks at her. She really needs to stop using finger guns as a last resort for not having anything to say. 

Then he steps closer, tangles his fingers in his hair, and kisses her. Her hands press flat against his chest, and she relaxes as he pulls her into him. He’s really good at this. 

“Wow,” They hear a scoff, and they pull apart. Jackson clenches his jaw. It’s Stiles. “This just keeps happening, doesn’t it? My bad. Again.”

“It’s okay.” Lydia laughs, but keeps her eyes on Jackson. 

“See you guys tomorrow.” He says, and doesn’t wait to hear an answer as he gets in his Jeep. Allison and Scott are standing in the driveway smiling and talking, and she knows Stiles has to wait for Scott because they carpooled. 

“You know,” Jackson sighs, pulling one of her curls and watching it snap back up when he lets it go. “I always imagined myself dating a redhead. I don’t know why; it’s just always been stuck in my head. It’s like deja vu or something.”

“Wow. That’s a line.” Lydia laughs, shaking her head. 

“No, I’m serious. I can’t explain it.” He smiles, looking into her eyes. He has a slightly puzzled look on his face. “Anyway, I need to go. See you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” She nods, and stands there while he gives her another kiss. Then he pulls away, and she waves as he drives away. 

She smiles like an idiot, and she realizes she’s been doing that a lot lately. 

She sees Scott and Allison still talking, so she walks up to the passenger side of Stiles’ Jeep, and pulls the door open. 

“What’s up?” He asks, glancing at her once, before turning to look down at his phone again. She ignores his question. After all, that's just something you say to someone. People ask 'what's up?' even though they're right there, and the person asking can see 'what's up.'  


“What’s this?” Lydia asks, picking up a folder from his passenger seat. He looks over as she opens it.

“Oh, that’s nothing. Just…” He sighs, scratching his neck. She sees a bunch of scrambled writing on paper, and graphs with skewed circles drawn on them. “I’ve been learning about the Riemann Hypothesis. About nontrivial zeroes, zeta functions. It’s nothing.”

She sits there in awe, looking at these papers. Christ, it looks like Albert Einstein himself wrote this. She knew he was smart, but...this?

“You did this?” She asks, looking up at him. He nods and then looks away. She swallows thickly and puts the folder back where she found it. 

"See you tomorrow." She says, closing the door of his Jeep and walking towards her house. She says a goodbye to Scott on the way. 

She thinks about how smart Stiles is. So smart, and driven, and amazing, and she wishes she had never ever looked at that damn folder, because she thought that she couldn’t be more in love with him, but now she is. She was just kissing Jackson, but now here she is again, in the same routine of falling in love with Stiles even more. And she’s still mad at him too for what he said, but even when she thinks about it now, she can’t get angry. Because she’s in love with him, and love is blind. Even when you don’t want to be in it. 


	26. Mr. Hench

Lydia doesn't even want to _see_ Stiles. She has so many mixed feelings for him, and it's confusing. She wants to ask him if he really did say that about her in the locker room, but on the other hand, she wants to hold onto the idea that maybe he really did say it. It gives her a reason to be mad at him, and she _wants_ to be mad at him. If she found out he really didn't say it and Jackson was lying, her and Jackson would break up, and she would be right back where she started. She wants to pretend like none of it's happening. Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss, and she wants to hold onto that.

"God, I just want to sleep." Lydia groans, banging her head incessantly against the inside of her locker. "I feel a storm coming."

"You _feel_ a storm coming?" She hears Stiles ask behind her, but she doesn't turn around. Why is he everywhere? She hears Scott and Allison talking, and she finally pulls her head out of her locker, squints at the bright hallway lights, and fixes her hair.

"I broke my thumb in sixth grade. Ever since then I've felt pain in it when storms are coming. I don't know, Stiles, you're the smart one; figure it out." She huffs, crossing her arms. She doesn't want to be mean to him, but it's the only way to cope with her weird feelings right now. And after yesterday, she can't afford to be all buddy-buddy with him anymore. She can't do that to Jackson, because she knows it's so much more than that. It's not fair to him.

"I already know why. It's because of the change in air pressure. It mostly affects elderly people because of their rigid joints, but it also affects people who have broken a bone. That's why I asked; I didn't know you had broken a bone before." He shrugs, shooting right back with a tone matching hers. She's a little shocked, but she doesn't show it.

"Lydia," She hears, making her turn her head and smile.

"Hey, Jackson," She grins, and he picks her up by her waist, and kisses her. She smiles into it, running her fingers through his soft hair.

"Miss Martin and Mister Whittemore," Mr. Hench clears his throat, forcing them to pull away from each other. "The hallways are not the time to be demonstrating the stamina that teenagers possess. Break it up. If I see this again, you two are in for much worse than just a warning." He tells them sternly, and then proceeds to walk down the hall.

Stiles tries to hide a laugh, as Lydia pushes her lips together and scratches her neck awkwardly.

"I can't wait until that wrinkly old neanderthal finally retires," Jackson huffs, showing off the angry side he displayed last week at the lacrosse stands towards Stiles. Lydia is suddenly taken aback at his aggression.

"Hey," Lydia furrows her eyebrows, knocking her elbow against his. "It's really not a big deal."

"Sorry," He breathes out, forcing a smile. "I just don't like the guy. Personality or teaching abilities."

"Yeah, he is kind of a jerk," Scott shrugs, but instantly looks like he feels bad for saying it. "I don't have anything against him, but he can be mean. I've noticed that and I've only been here for a few weeks.

Just then Ashley appears, and doesn't hesitate one second before embracing Stiles and kissing him. Lydia forces herself not to roll her eyes.

"Okay. Stiles and Ashley like, hump each other in these hallways every day, and Jackson and I kiss once and get caught? How is that fair?" Lydia scoffs, crossing her arms.

"Life isn't fair, Leia," Stiles hums contently against Ashley's lips, and then turns to smile at Lydia. She throws a balled up gum wrapper at him, and just then, of course, Mr. Hench walks back past them into his classroom, eyeing her.

"I'll pick it up!" She laughs, peaking her head into the room. "I was just...I'll pick it up."

They all laugh at her, and Allison pats her head while Lydia whines.

"God, I just realized how tall all of you are," She moves her head back a little, having to look up at every one of them. "Christ."

"It's because you're about four-foot-five," Stiles shrugs, tossing the gum wrapper back, and it falls down her shirt. "Very small."

Lydia is preparing herself to retort back, but Allison speaks first.

"Hey," She leans in to the group, lowering her voice and staring over at another group down the hall. "Have you guys noticed how strangely they've been acting? Vernon Boyd, Erica Reyes, Isaac Lahey, and Tracy Stewart? Isn't that a weird group? I mean, I don't know, I never saw them even hang out until-"

"-Until that weird animal attack a couple of weeks ago. It chased Isaac, I think. Really spooked him. Probably a cougar." Lydia looks at Allison, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. "But I noticed too. I've never seen them together before, either."

"I heard it was a mountain lion." Jackson speaks up, leaning against a locker.

"A cougar _is_ a mountain lion." Stiles breathes in with annoyance, and then Ashley and Jackson both stare at him. "Isn't it?"

Lydia rolls her eyes at his attempt at pretending dumbness. It's ridiculous.

"Who cares? The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway," Jackson replies, and Lydia tries to ignore his rudeness. He's probably just having a bad day.

"I don't know. I've heard that someone saw Derek Hale around the school the other day. Pretty weird. Maybe he knows something since it was his property." Lydia shrugs, and then looks at Scott. "That guy gives me the creeps."

"That's the guy whose families house burnt down a couple of years ago, right? I think I heard someone talking about it the other day." He says, shoving one hand in his pocket and holding Allison's with the other.

"Yeah," Stiles replies, throwing his arm around Ashley's shoulder. Lydia, feeling out of place, puts her arm around Jackson's bicep. "My dad's the Sheriff. I asked him if he knew anything about the attack, but he said it was 'confidential'. I didn't really care that much anyway; it's not like I go outside all the time, so I doubt I'll be attacked."

Then the bell starts ringing, and Lydia already feels bored and class hasn't even begun yet.

"See you guys," Scott tells them, kissing Allison's cheek and then walking with Ashley to their class. Jackson kisses Lydia full on the lips passionately, almost _too_ passionately for this setting, and then pulls away.

"See you at lunch." He gives a smug smile, and then walks off to class, not even turning around to glance at her once.

"Come on, Leia, we don't have all day," Stiles starts walking backwards down the hall, staring at her as she longingly watched Jackson walk away, still in a daze from the kiss.

"I'm coming." She laughs, snapping out of it and pulling on the straps of her backpack to readjust it on her shoulders. She almost trips on her own feet, smiling like an idiot and sighing as she catches up with Stiles.

Lunch goes like it normally does. Allison and Scott are whispering and smiling at each other, Stiles and Ashley are being gross and making out the entire time, and Lydia and Jackson just talk like normal human beings do. Maybe the others should take some notes.

"I was thinking that maybe we could go on another date this weekend." Jackson looks her right in the eyes, intimidating her enough to make her not even be able to say no even if she wanted to.

"You really want to?" She asks, propping her chin on her fist and smiling like an idiot.

"Of course," He gives a small smile, running his index finger along her neck. His gaze falls to her lips, then back to her eyes. "I told you I wanted to."

"Yeah, but I thought, you know, that you just didn't want to hurt my feelings. Which I wouldn't blame you for or anything, it's just-"

Jackson cuts her off by kissing her. Her hands are still up in the air from her trying to explain to him something she can't even remember now. She relaxes, closes her eyes, and then puts her hands on his arms.

"I want to," He reassures her with a whisper, running his hand down her arm. He is...charming. More than that. Is there a word for someone who is charming maximized by ten?

"Okay," She finally shuts up, giving a normal reply.

"Great," He nods, gives her arm a squeeze, and then turns to continue eating his lunch. How the hell does he do that? Lydia can't even see straight right now.

After fourth period, Lydia is zooming through the halls, late for class. She rounds a corner, and almost bumps into someone. Mr. Hench. Her eyes widen, and thankfully he's looking down in a schedule book so he doesn't notice her right away. He starts raising his head, feeling the waft of air from her sprints, so she takes off running. He already hates her enough. Almost running into him, and a tardy will definitely land her a spot on the "students Mr. Hench treats horribly just because he doesn't like them" list.

She keeps running until she finds a supply closet. She's running so fast that when she finally gets to it and grabs the knob, her legs give out and keep sliding. Finally she regains balance, and without even taking the time to look down the hall and find out if he saw her, she slips into the closet.

Her breath is extremely heavy; embarrassingly so given the fact that she only ran about fifty-five feet. She tries to catch her breath as she rests her head on a cleaning supply shelf.

"More trouble?" She hears, and turns to see Stiles in the corner, reading a book. She almost trips on the mountain of wires that are on the floor. "That's another way you're like Leia; you both always get yourselves into ridiculous amounts of unnecessary trouble."

"Jesus Christ, how are you everywhere?" She presses her hand to her forehead, and he laughs and sets his book down. The light is dim so she can't tell what he's reading, but then again, she probably wouldn't understand it anyway.

"I was actually thinking the same thing about you." He crosses his arms, and his muscles flex. His stupid muscles.

She ignores him, and then looks at her phone.

"God, I'm already eighteen minutes late." She huffs, and then puts her phone back in her pocket.

"No point in going now. It'll already be counted as an absent." He shrugs, and, realizing he's right, she lets her back slide down the wall to try and finish catching her breath. "So who were you running from?"

"Why are you in here?" She asks back, crossing her own arms in defiance.

"I asked first," He shrugs, still looking at her. Finally she breaks, and rolls her eyes.

"After fourth period I was at the vending machines, trying to get some stupid potato chips. It wouldn't take my last dollar, so I kept asking around, and finally someone said they had one in their locker that they would switch mine with. So they left, and then...never came back. They stole my damn dollar, and I stood there for ten minutes actually thinking they'd bring it back," She leans back, letting out an exaggerated sigh. "Then I realized how late I was, so I started running. I almost ran into Mr. Hench, but he didn't see me fully, so I ran. That's how I got here."

"Interesting." He laughs, and then she suddenly gets hit in the head with something. She's ready to yell at him, until she notices that it's a bag of potato chips. "I'm here because I have a free period, and," He looks at his watch, then back at her. "Approximately twenty-two minutes ago, Ashley and I were hooking up in here."

"Oh, gross," Lydia chomps on her chips and scrunches her nose. He laughs.

"So you and Jackson are really working out, huh?" He asks, glancing around the room aimlessly. That's when she suddenly remembers what she had wanted to forget.

"Yeah. Our date was great." She nods, taking a break from eating a chip for a second. God, this is hard. "Except...one thing was kinda weird."

"Yeah?" He asks, suddenly interested.

"Jackson was saying that...he said that the other day, in the locker room, you said I was really annoying or something." She bites her lip, trying to read his expression. Like always, nothing. "I tried to stay neutral, though, because...you wouldn't say that, right? I mean...I don't know."

"Wow, he's such a complete dick," Stiles laughs bitterly, clenching his jaw and fists. Relief flooded her, and she swallows dryly.

"So you didn't say it then?" She laughs quietly, finally able to breath.

"I mean..." He sighs, scratching the back of his neck. Her stomach drops as he looks at her apologetically. "It wasn't what you think."

"Oh wow, and you're really calling Jackson the dick?" She stands up, showing anger but feeling sadness sink into her body.

"Come on, it wasn't even like that, Lydia," He rolls his eyes, and she fights tears in her own. She doesn't want him to see how badly this is really hurting her.

"Oh yeah? So did you say it or not, Stiles?" She stares at him, gulping. He hesitates for a moment, and for a split second she can read him. Guilt.

"I did." He answers, staring in her eyes. She turns and opens the door, but stops before she walks out.

"You know what I said to Jackson after he told me that?" Her voice breaks, but she remains strong. "That I think the same about you."

She walks out then, and goes to class. She doesn't care if she's late or not; she needs something normal right now, so she can focus on it rather than the unbearable pain in her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo! She finally confronted him! I would love to hear what you guys think about how it went. It will go into more detail about it in the next few chapters, I promise! Also - I hope you all liked the way I changed the 'supernatural' plot line. If it didn't happen to Scott, it must have happened to someone else, right? Anyway, thanks for reading :)


	27. Apologies

"Lydia," Allison says softly, sitting Lydia down on her bed. "I talked to Stiles today. I really think you should hear him out."

"You did _what?!_ " Lydia stands up, but Allison pushes her back down on the bed.

"No way. I'm trying to talk to you - you aren't going to leave." Allison replies sternly, and Lydia is so surprised, that she sits back and obeys. Allison never acts this way, and that's when Lydia realizes how serious it is.

"Fine," She crosses her arms, speaking in a low voice. She's a little embarrassed now.

It's been almost a week and a half since Lydia confronted Stiles in the supply closet. She hasn't spoken to him, or even _looked_ at him since. To be fair, he hasn't really tried to apologize either. Not very hard, at least.

The first time he tried was the day after it happened, right before their first class. He pulled her into the hallway before she went into first period, and she pushed him off before he could get any words out, and went in anyway. The second time was two days after that, in the library while she was trying to read. She put her book over her face, and ignored him. He kept trying to get her attention, but the librarian kicked him out because he was being too loud.

Now it's the following Thursday, and she hasn't changed her mind about forgiving him. She has constantly been ignoring the horrible things he's done for years, but she's finally done now. She's moving on.

"I know he wants to apologize to you himself, but you won't talk to him. I know you're pissed, but you know I wouldn't say this if I didn't think he was sincerely sorry." Allison sits next to her, and pats her back. "He even hunted me down and asked me to talk to you since you're ignoring him. He feels really bad, I can tell."

"Well he should have thought about that before he said it," Lydia shrugs but gulps, not wanting to admit that she's really happy that he hasn't given up yet.

"I know, but he told me why he said it, and it makes a lot of sense. But I want you to hear it from him, not me." Allison tells her, and Lydia doesn't reply; she just sits there thinking about what possible scenario he could call her annoying in, and it would make sense to Allison. "Look, Lydia, this whole past week hasn't been right. You haven't spoken to Stiles once, and you barely have even spent time with _me_ , either. You've spent almost every minute with Jackson."

"So what? It's not like I'm mad at _you,_ Allison. It's just that you're always hanging out with Scott. Which is fine, but he's always with Stiles. I don't want to see Stiles." Lydia tells her, trying to get her point across.

Oh, and that's another thing. She really has spent almost every day with Jackson. All day at school, most evenings after school, and even two dates. They've made out probably fifteen times by now. He always tries to go further, but she always stops him. She's not ready for that.

"Okay, I get that, but _I_ want to hang out with you. This is all ridiculous. I really, _really_ want you to listen to him. I told him I would talk to you, and that he should try to apologize again tomorrow." Allison bites her lip and looks away.

"No you didn't!" Lydia groans, falling back against the bed.

"It's time you get over this! And God, Lydia, I told him I'd convince you, so when he comes up to you tomorrow, you better listen to him." Allison tells her, raising an eyebrow.

"Ughhh!" Lydia groans even louder, and then buries her face in a pillow. "I wanted to stay mad at him."

"I know. But it's gone too far, and we miss the group hanging out. It's not the same." Allison falls back next to her, smiling.

"Fine," Lydia laughs, bashing Allison's head with a pillow.

"Hey!" Allison laughs, fixing her hair.

"You deserved it."

"Maybe a little."

Lydia is on edge the entire next day. She doesn't know when he's planning on confronting her, and by fourth period, after lunch, she decides that he probably changed his mind.

Until after lacrosse practice.

She is walking back inside behind the team, minding her own business, when she gets pulled under the bleachers. Great.

"Hi," Stiles smiles hesitantly, slightly breathless. Sweaty, too. He looks nervous, which Lydia finds a little unsettling. He never looks nervous.

"Hey, Stiles," She chews her lip, breathing in. She's annoyed still, but she promised Allison she would talk to him. So that's what she's doing. She never promised she'd have a good attitude about it, though.

"So did you talk to Allison?" He asks, looking her in the eyes. That's also a little unsettling as well; mostly just because eye contact scares the hell out of her.

"Yeah, I did." She replies, being short with him. She's not gonna let him get off this easy.

"Can I explain?" He asks, sighing. Not impatiently, though, it was more of a "I'm not sure what to do next" kind of sigh.

"Have at it." She nods, crossing her arms.

"Okay." He grabs the hem of his shirt, pulls it up, and wipes the sweat from his forehead off on it. She gets a quick, up-close look at his beautiful, beautiful abs. She pushes her lips together, and looks back up at him right as he lets it drop back down. "I wish I could have explained it to you before you left the other day. It's really not what you think at all. Jackson just..." He breathes in, trying to keep his temper in control.

Lydia narrows her eyes, and he shakes his head, realizing he's off to a bad start. That's when it starts to sprinkle. Drops of water are making loud noises as they hit the bleachers above them. Jackson's probably looking for her by now.

"Do you know how we were fighting a few weeks ago? Because Jackson was a jerk at the table, I told him to stop, and then asked you to thank me while we were in the parking lot?" He asks, raising his voice as the rain grows louder. The thunder is loud too, and Lydia is just about soaking wet already. Her finger had been right the other day. A little ahead, but still right.

"Yeah, I remember," She nods, wanting more than anything to go inside. But this is how all romance movies are, right? A big apology, and a kiss in the rain? She shakes the thought away quickly. She's with Jackson.

"The day after that is when I was saying that about you in the locker room. It was wrong. It was stupid. I didn't mean it, Lydia. I was annoyed with you, even though I realize it was my fault now. I was pissed, but you had been right and I didn't want to admit it. So I was in the locker room, and Jackson asked about you," He pushes his wet hair back, and raindrops are falling off of his lips. "He asked about you, and that's when I said it. It was dumb, Lydia. It was before I knew you."

"So...you didn't mean it?" She asks, gulping. The rain is cool on her skin, which is nice because she had just been burning up on the bleachers a few minutes ago.

"Of course I didn't. I'm sorry. I know I was a jerk, and I wish I could take it back." He puts his hand on her arm, and her own hand trembles at her side.

"It's okay, Stiles," She smiles weakly, looking up at him. Even though the rain is mostly clouding her vision, she can still see the faint smile on his face. "Can we go in now? It's getting cold out here."

"Wait," He stops her, looking down at the ground for a second. "I need to tell you something about Jackson. I don't want to go inside yet; he can't hear me say it."

"Um...yeah," Lydia nods, suddenly curious. "What is it?"

"He's not real around you," Stiles tells her, shaking his head. He's cutting right to the chase; he doesn't want to waste any time. "He always does this. He makes it some kind of mission to get a girl, and once he's slept with them, he drops them like they're nothing. He doesn't really like you, Lydia, no matter how much it seems like it. I should have told you before, but you were so excited, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Now I am."

"What?" Lydia laughs, furrowing her eyebrows. She's shaking now, with coldness and with nervousness. "That's a lie."

"No," he shakes his head, looking in her eyes. "It's not a lie. Your first date...I told you I came back for my phone. _That_ was a lie. I wanted to tell you not to go. I wanted to stop you."

"If he's that bad, then why the hell didn't you? And God, why are you just telling me this now?" Her teeth chatter, and he reaches out to grab her arm, but she pushes him away. He looks a little hurt then, but he quickly regains his posture.

"You were so excited. I couldn't do it, Lydia. I know that was a mistake now. I should have stopped you from going." He gulps, and she balls up her fists at her sides.

"You can't tell me what to do. Jackson...he likes me. He likes me, okay, as hard as that is to believe." She grits her teeth, not believing it. "Things are finally going well for me. You can't ruin that. I won't let you."

"Lydia, you are smarter than this! You've seen him do this to other girls your whole life!" He furrows his eyebrows, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"So you didn't care that he did it to other girls? You just stood by and watched, thinking it was funny, huh? Well why stop it now? What makes me different than them?" She asks, angry and frustrated and upset. He opens his mouth to reply, but then shuts it again. "This is stupid. I don't believe it, okay? He wouldn't do that to me."

"Yes," Stiles tells her, and she has to read his lips because the rain is too loud to hear his whisper. "He would. And he is. He pointed out what I said in the locker room, but he forgot to mention what _he_ said. He said he would sleep with you by the end of the month."

"Get the hell away from me." She turns around, swallowing back tears.

"Lydia!" Stiles calls behind her, but she keeps walking. When she gets inside, she runs to the bathroom and locks herself in. She breathes in deeply, and uses paper towels to dry her hair. She doesn't believe him. She _can't_ believe him.

She takes a few more minutes to dry her tears, and then walks out of the bathroom to find Allison. She just wants to go home.

Just then her phone buzzes in her pocket. She takes it out, rubs the rain drops on the screen off on her pants, and then sees that it's a number not in her contacts.

"Hello?" She asks, thinking it's probably a wrong number.

"Lydia Martin?" She hears on the other line. The signal is scratchy, but it's enough for her to hear that it's her name they're saying.

"I'm her. I mean...this is me. I'm Lydia." She shakes her head, stopping her steps in the deserted school hallway.

"Your mother is in the emergency room." The woman tells her, and Lydia takes in a sharp breath. Her stomach drops with panic. "She was in a car crash. They're doing some procedures now, we aren't yet sure the extent of the damage."

Lydia stands there motionless, staring at the wall. She takes a deep breath, and blinks.

"I'm on my way." Her hand shakes, and it's like everything's in slow motion.

"Be careful on these r-" The person on the other line says, but she shoves her phone in her pocket before she hears the rest.

She pushes through the doors of the school, running through the parking lot. It's raining even harder than it was a few minutes ago, and she can hardly see. She goes to Allison's car and bangs on the windows, praying Allison is waiting for her inside it. She's not. Near by she can hear an engine start up that she would recognize anywhere. She runs and runs, hoping she gets there before it's too late. Right as Stiles starts backing up his Jeep, Lydia reaches him, and pounds her fist on his window. Her breath is shallow, and she's already feeling lightheaded.

"Get in!" He yells, reaching over and opening the door for her.

"Stiles, please..." She begs, trying to catch her breath as she looks at him. "Stiles, I can't…"

"Lydia," He says calmly, putting his hand on her shoulder. His eyes are wide with worry. "You have to tell me what's wrong."

"It's...it's my mom. She's in the hospital." Lydia's voice breaks, and a tear rolls down her cheek. Without another word, Stiles switches gears, and starts driving. Whatever they were fighting about a few minutes ago is forgotten.


	28. Hospital

“Is she okay? Do you know?” Stiles asks, staring at the road intently. The rain is pouring down on the windshield, and honestly, Lydia isn't sure how he's even driving in it right now. Her tears are probably making it worse, she realizes.

“They...they don't know. Not yet.” Her breath is shallow, and she grips the seat as hard as she can. She can’t take her mind off the worst possible scenario: her mom is dead.

“It's okay, Lydia, we’ll be there in a minute. She'll be okay.” He assures her, putting his hand on top of hers, and lacing their fingers together.

If this had happened in any other circumstance, she would be freaking out. Now she's freaking out, but for a different reason. She knows it's just for comfort, and no feelings for him even matter right now. She can only think about her mom. 

“I can't lose her, Stiles, I can't do it,” She gasps, leaning back against the seat and closing her eyes. 

“You won't. You won't, it's okay.” He tells her, squeezing her hand. She's glad he's calm, because she's just the opposite. “Just breathe, okay? I need you to breathe.”

Just then he parks at the emergency room entrance. He takes his hand off of hers, puts his Jeep in park, and then they get out. She knows it's probably highly illegal to park where he did, and it makes her feel good that he cares enough about this not to even worry about that.

She stumbles inside, her vision blurry and out of focus. 

“Natalie Martin? Where is she?” Lydia gulps, asking the receptionist. She’s soaking wet with tears in her eyes, and her hands are shaking. Stiles sets his hand on her back, and leans in to the receptionist. 

“Her mom was in a car wreck about fifteen minutes ago,” He explains, “Is there any news? Is she alright?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know. You should take a seat in the waiting room, and a doctor will come talk to you when they know something. It’s the first door on the right.” The woman says calmly, and then looks back down at the papers she had been looking at before. Lydia wants to punch her. 

Her mom could be dead right now. She could be banged up, barely even recognizable anymore. She may never get to talk to her again. 

“Come on, Lydia,” Stiles whispers to her, guiding her to the waiting room as she starts to panic. Then her vision starts to darken, and even though she was holding onto Stiles for support, her legs give out and she starts sliding down the wall. She’s choking with sobs, and she’s gasping for air. Stiles gets down next to her, having no idea what to do. She hasn’t had a real panic attack in so long. But now, of course, she just  _ has  _ to have it in front of her crush. How embarrassing.

“Just...just try and think about something else. Anything else.” He tells her, and she feels like she’s drowning. She can’t breathe. She can barely even process his words. 

“Like what?!” She cries, taking in short, shallow breaths. She starts feeling lightheaded too, because the low amount of oxygen she _ does _ have in her body is quickly running out of supply.

“Uhh...happy things! Good things! Uh, friends! Family!” Stiles tells her, desperately trying not to freak out himself. At the word “family”, Lydia looks up at him like “why would you say that?”, because that was the exact thing she was trying to  _ avoid  _ thinking about. He quickly realizes, and shakes his head. 

“Uh, I mean...not family. Oh God. Okay, uh, just...try and slow your breathing.” He uses his hand to motion the steps of taking a breath, but her brain can’t even remember what it’s  _ like  _ to breathe right now. 

“I can’t,” Lydia clutches at her racing heart, feeling the panic getting worse. “I can’t.”

“Shhh. Shhh, Lydia, look at me,” Stiles gets closer, and grabs her face in his hands. She looks into his dark brown eyes, trying to focus on breathing. She can’t. “Shhhh, look at me. Shhh, Lydia,” He repeats, getting closer and running the side of his thumb against her cheek. He gulps.

She looks in his eyes then, and he looks back, swallowing thickly. He doesn’t even look away once. In fact, their eyes are still locked even when he crashes his lips against hers.

His fingers are desperately pulling her face to his, pushing his lips against hers with urgency. Her eyes are wide, trying to imagine  _ why the hell he would do this now.  _ She notices how his eyes are shut, and his eyebrows are furrowed with absorption in his sudden action. She doesn’t know why he did it, and she doesn’t care. Each passing second is wiping away the thoughts that were making her panic, and that’s a relief she doesn’t think she can find anywhere else. 

His lips graze against hers softly but firmly, and his fingers are holding her chin to keep her in place. Way too soon he’s pulling away. Even when they aren’t kissing anymore, she doesn’t open her eyes yet. She wants to pretend like it never ended. 

Maybe it’s the anticipation from years of imagining what this moment would be like, or maybe it’s something real. Either way, Lydia feels exactly how Allison said she feels every time she kisses Scott. That awful but amazing feeling in your stomach that feels like you’re about to puke. The fireworks going off behind her eyelids. It doesn’t matter what she could have ever imagined this moment being like; the real thing better. 

Finally her eyes blink open, and she realizes that Stiles’ are still closed. She stares at him for a second, not believing what just happened. Here they are, on the ground in the hallway of the hospital, and they...kissed. Stiles kissed her.  _ He  _ kissed  _ her.  _

When he does open his eyes, he stares right back at her like he can’t believe that just happened either. It was obviously a heat of the moment kind of thing. So sudden, in fact, that she had forgotten about Jackson. And, apparently, Stiles forgot about Ashley too. Or he just doesn’t care. She doesn’t know which would be worse. 

Lydia lets out a short breath and swallows thickly, realizing she can finally breathe in again. The longer they look at each other, though, the realer this gets. It feels like a dream. A really,  _ really  _ good dream. Like one of the ones you wake up from, and you feel good all day because of it. But now she’s waking up, and coming back to reality.

“How…” Lydia gulps, breathing in. It’s easy now. “How did you do that?”

“I, uh,” Stiles bites his lip, whispering through a hoarse voice. “I read once that...holding your breath could stop a panic attack. So…” He licks his bottom lip quickly, still staring at her. “When I kissed you...you held your breath.”

“I-I did?” Lydia asks, trying to remember but failing. 

“Yeah,” Stiles replies quietly, nodding. “You did.”

“Thanks,” Lydia whispers back, still trying to process what just happened. She must have brain damage, because this makes absolutely no sense. “That was really smart.”

After a few more seconds of staring, suddenly it was like they both realized what exactly had just happened. Lydia bites her lip and sits back, realizing how badly her legs are aching from sitting on them. Stiles breathes out and chews on the inside of his cheek. 

“I just…” He pushes his lips together, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know, I just read it somewhere.” He nods, awkwardly knocking his fist against her leg. 

She’s never seen him act like this. Usually he’s calm and collected, no matter what kind of situation he’s in. But now he’s acting slightly awkward, and she can’t tell if that signifies something good or bad.

“And if I was really smart,” He continues, and looks up at her. “I would tell you to sign up for a few sessions with the guidance counselor.” He smiles slightly, and Lydia lets out a breathy laugh. She mentally adds  _ being able to make things less awkward by making a joke  _ to the list of things Stiles Stilinski is good at. 

Trying to ignore what just happened, Stiles helps her up, and they back go into the waiting room. 

A few minutes go by, and she can’t tell if it’s actually awkward between them, or if it’s just her imagining it. Either way, she wants to take her mind off of it, and off of the fact that she’s here because her mom was in an accident. So she picks up a magazine that she’s not even the least bit interested in, and flips through it like she can’t get enough.

Twenty minutes pass, and still neither of them have spoken. Stiles is looking up at the TV, watching a news report. Lydia tries for a few minutes, but it’s way too boring. This is a disaster.

“You should, um…” Lydia says, trying to break the awkward silence. “Maybe you should go move your Jeep? So you don’t get arrested or something.” She laughs, tapping her finger against her leg, and staring at a black smudge on the floor across the room. 

“Nah,” He laughs, sighing as he knocks his elbow against hers playfully. He’s awfully good at pretending like they both didn’t just cheat on their boyfriend/girlfriend. “My dad always gets me out of that stuff. Especially if it’s an emergency like this. He would kill me if he found out I left you here by yourself just to go park my Jeep.”

“Oh,” She nods and laughs, trying not to focus on the two horrible things happening right now. This is not how she wanted this to happen. “Thanks.”

“Martin?” A doctor walks in, holding a chart. He’s looking around the waiting room aimlessly, looking for someone to claim the name. 

“That’s me,” Lydia springs out of her chair immediately, breathing in deeply and trying to prepare herself. “Is she okay? What happened.”

“There’s good news and bad news,” He explains, glancing between her and the chart, before finally settling his gaze at her. “Your mother is alive. She’s still unconscious from the anesthesia, but she will be okay.”

Lydia lets out a huge sigh of relief, and tears fill her eyes again. This time with happiness.

“And the bad news?” Stiles asks for her, walking up to them. 

“She’s pretty banged up. She has a fractured shoulder, collarbone, and wrist. She will be fine, though, is what really matters.” The doctor smiles at them, and then walks out of the room as if he has something better to do.

Without even thinking, she turns, and wraps her arms around Stiles’ neck. She’s crying and laughing, and she’s so happy that she doesn’t even know what to do with herself. Her mom is okay. 

After a few seconds, Stiles puts his arms around her in return, and laughs along with her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!!! I hope you all liked how it went :)


	29. Advice

“You can leave if you want, you know. I already texted Allison; she's on her way.” Lydia glances at Stiles, and squeezes her moms hand. She’s still laying there unconscious, with tubes in her nose and an IV in her arm. The room is quiet except for the beeping noises on the heart monitor.

“I'm not leaving,” Stiles shakes his head, and Lydia feels his eyes on her, but she's not brave enough to turn and look in his eyes again. “If this was my dad here, I wouldn't want to be by myself. Not even for a second.”

“Thanks,” She smiles at the ground, and then musters enough confidence to look up at him. He's sitting across the room in a chair, already looking at her. “Seriously. For everything.”

“Don't worry about it.” He gives a half smile, and she tries to find the worry in his face. She wants to see that he feels guilty for what he did, just like she does. And yeah, of course she wanted to kiss him. But in every single scenario she's ever imagined, it's never happened this way. She wishes it hadn't. 

But now isn’t the time to worry, she realizes. Not about that at least, when there are so many other things to be worried about.

“Hey, Leia,” Stiles says quietly, breaking the silence.

“Mhmm?” She turns to him, still holding her moms hand in her own.

“I really am sorry about the parking lot thing a few weeks ago," He tells her, rubbing his palms together slowly, gracefully. "I guess I never apologized. I should have."

"It's forgotten," She gives a half smile, and he gives one back and nods.

It's only a few minutes later when they hear a soft knock on the door. Stiles gets up, and Lydia already knows it's Allison.

"Oh, thank God she's okay." Allison breathes out, rushing over to hug Lydia. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Very relieved." She smiles up at her, and then Allison hugs her again with tears in her eyes.

"Lydia?" She hears a voice, and pulls away from Allison so she can see. She thinks it's Scott at first, but she spots him over by Stiles, politely staying quiet. Then her eyes go to the door, and Jackson is walking towards her. "Are you alright, Lyd?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Jackson," She laughs, standing up to embrace him in a hug. He smells like an ocean breeze, like always. His hand slides around to the small of her back, and his other cups her cheek. Then he kisses her. It's nice, it is, but after kissing Stiles...well, let's just say it's not even comparable. And she hates that she feels that way too, because she likes Jackson.

When she opens her eyes, her stare immediately finds Stiles. He's just looking down at his phone, not paying attention. She can't help but think that what he said about Jackson may be true. Could it?

No. He likes her, and she likes him. Maybe he used to be that way, but not anymore. He can't be.

"I'm so glad she's okay," He smiles, running his thumb gently across her cheek.

"Trust me; I am too," Lydia laughs, laying her head on his shoulder. Then she sighs, and wraps her arms around his waist. "So glad."

After everything's settled, Lydia goes to grab herself a cup of coffee. She's pretty sure that she's going to be here for a while.

"Hey, I'm about to head out," She knows the voice before she even turns around to look. Stiles is standing there with his arms crossed, and she decides she likes this look on him. His hair is messy and ungelled from the rain, his clothes are wrinkly, and he looks like a normal human being instead of some kind of God. Okay, he still does, but maybe a  _ little _ less like one.

"That's fine. Thanks again for, uh...everything," She scratches her neck, almost spilling her coffee on herself. She doesn't want to say for what exactly, but he probably gets the gist.

"Don't thank me," He laughs, pushing himself off the wall with his foot. "You aren't going to be alone are you?"

"No, Allison's going to stay with me. I'll probably be here all weekend - maybe even some next week; I'm not sure yet." She sighs, and he nods. 

“Well, you can call me if you need anything.” His eyes fall to the grip she's holding on her coffee cup, and then up to her eyes. 

“I will. Thanks.” She breathes in, running her finger around the rim of her cup. “Stiles.”

“What?” He asks, and she breathes in deeply. 

“I…I'm sorry I was so harsh about Jackson earlier. Just...don't worry about it, okay? I don't think he's that person anymore. People change.” She whispers, just in case. He bites his bottom lip, and vaguely shakes his head. She’s not sure what that means. 

“It was just a warning. Maybe he  _ has _ changed.” He answers, but the way he says it makes it obvious that he doesn’t even believe his own words.

“Yeah. I hope so.” She gulps, wanting to believe it. They both stand there awkwardly for a few seconds, before he clears his throat. 

“I'll see you,” He lifts his hand briefly as a goodbye, shoves his hands in his pocket, and walks out of the hospital. She watches him walk away, biting her lip. She doesn't know where this leaves them at all.

She stands there for a few minutes trying to think. None of this makes any sense, and she’s tired of being tangled up in these webs. Should she tell Jackson they kissed? But, in reality,  _ he  _ kissed  _ her,  _ so she didn’t technically do anything wrong. Well, that would be correct, If it weren’t for the fact that she liked it. And didn’t stop him. She doesn’t want to think about that now. Maybe when her mom is better. 

She goes back to the hospital room, and sits in the chair next to her mom like before. 

“Scott’s going to take me by my house really quick so I can grab some clothes and my toothbrush. I’ll go by your house and get you some stuff too, okay?” Allison asks, putting her hand on Lydia’s shoulder for comfort.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I don’t want to leave her, so that’s perfect.” She laughs, glancing at her mom. She looks peaceful. 

“I’m gonna stay with you.” Jackson pulls up a seat next to her, and puts her hand on her leg. 

“Thanks, Jackson,” She lays her head on his shoulder, and he puts his arm around her, and kisses her head. She doesn’t feel right about this. Not at all.

“I think the storm has calmed a little now. We’ll be back in a few,” Allison waves at them, and her and Scott walk out hand-in-hand. 

“Be careful,” Lydia tells them, and then sits up straight, not feeling worthy enough to lay on Jackson. She cheated, and she doesn’t want to do anything like that until she tells him. It’s wrong. And it’s wrong for her to be sitting here right now next to him, imagining it’s Stiles. She hates herself for that. 

“So Stiles brought you, huh?” Jackson asks, rubbing his thumb against the skin of her arm. She wants to avoid eye contact at all cost, so she keeps her eyes on her mom. “How’d that happen?”

At the word “Stiles,” her muscles immediately tense. She hopes he doesn’t notice, but if he’s observant at all, he probably did. 

“I got a call from the hospital. They said my mom was here, and Stiles was the nearest person by, so I asked him to bring me. I was completely hysterical, and he helped me.” She shrugs, still not looking at him. 

“But why? Why was he the nearest person by?” He asks, and she finally turns to look at him, because she wants to know what his expression is. She spots it immediately unlike Stiles, who she would probably have to study for hours to figure out his true thoughts on something. Jackson is able to read easily, and right now, Lydia coins it as curiosity. 

“We had sort of...a falling out. You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t talked to him. I don’t want to get into it, really, but today he just...apologized. That was it. And then we came over here, and I’ve been sitting with my mom.” She replies, realizing that even if he  _ did  _ accuse her of something, he would be correct. She doesn’t even have the right to be mad at him for cornering her.

“I’m glad you guys made up. I figured that’s what it was.” He laughs, and then leans in to kiss her. So he wasn’t even accusing her of anything, it’s just the fact that she’s completely paranoid now. 

“Yeah, I’m glad too. Maybe we can all hang out again now.” She pulls away, trying to pretend like she didn’t see him try to kiss her. She wonders how long she can keep this up before he realizes she’s avoiding him. The phase after that is the one where he’s going to try and figure out  _ why  _ she’s avoiding him, and she doesn’t want him to get that far. 

They don’t talk very much after that. He gives her her space, which she really appreciates, because she needs it. It’s about thirty minutes before Allison and Scott return. 

“I’ll come visit tomorrow,” Jackson promises as he kisses her cheek, and then follows Scott out the door. Scott had made sure they had absolutely everything they needed, and then he kissed Allison before they left. 

“So,” Allison strains her neck to make sure Jackson and Scott are gone, before she turns to Lydia and grins, pulling her knees under her. “Did Stiles apologize?”

Oh, God. Should she tell Allison? She hasn’t even thought about it, which is strange, because she tells Allison everything. She wonders if Stiles will tell Scott. She laughs internally at that, realizing he probably wouldn’t tell him about that in a thousand years. He’s probably embarrassed about it.

“Yeah, he apologized,” Lydia bites her lip, allowing herself to be excited about the kiss for the first time since it happened. 

“Oh my God, what happened?! You’re totally blushing!” Allison’s mouth dropped, and Lydia covers her face and laughs. 

“Shh!” She bites her lip, and then drags Allison into the hallway. “Mom could have heard us.”

“She’s unconscious! She can’t hear us.” Allison laughs, and a nurse that walks by gives them a weird look. 

“Actually, her subconscious is probably picking it up. Either way, I don’t want to risk it.” Lydia breathes out, trying to stay calm. 

“Okay, so what happened?” Allison asks, biting her lip in anticipation. 

“Um...he...he kissed me.” Lydia looks at the floor and grins, and then laughs and shakes her head. 

“No way!” Allison gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. Even though her mouth is covered, Lydia can still tell she’s grinning, because her dimples are so easy to spot. “How did it happen?! God, I told you he likes you!”

“He does not! I was just...I was just having a panic attack. Like, even worse than that one I had on the field trip in sixth grade when we went and saw those spider habitat thingys. It was bad. Like, extremely bad.” Lydia explains, and Allison furrows her eyebrows. 

“Okay, but what does that have to do with kissing you?” She asks, still smiling but looking confused. “Sorry, I just don’t see the correlation between the two.”

“I was freaking out, not sure if mom was even okay or not. We were on the floor, and he was trying to calm me down because I was flipping the hell out, which, I realize now, is really embarrassing. Anyway, that’s when he kissed me. Afterwards he said that he read that when someone holds their breath, it helps stop a panic attack. And apparently I did.” Lydia shrugs, feeling jittery. She isn’t sure if it’s from the coffee, or if it’s just her happiness overpowering her body. 

“Oh my God,” Allison shakes her head, laughing. “That’s exactly what someone would say who wanted an excuse to kiss the other person. Classic.”

“That’s not ‘classic!’ I don’t know about you, but I don’t specifically remember Cinderella’s first kiss with prince charming to be because she had a panic attack,” Lydia breathes out, scratching her neck. 

“Come on, Lydia, don’t be so naive! A normal person would have just told you to hold your breath. Instead he kissed you, hoping that you would hold your breath? That’s not something someone who’s not in love would do.” Allison shrugs, and Lydia rolls her eye and leans flat against the wall. 

“It was wrong,” Lydia gulps, and then picks her head up off the wall so she can look at Allison.

“Why? Isn’t this what you want?” Allison asks, looking confused again. 

“Jackson. And Ashley. We both cheated.” Lydia whispers, and Allison’s smile drops, and is replaced by a sigh. She chews on the inside of her cheek. 

“But you don’t like Jackson the way you like Stiles. It’s not the same; we both know that.” Allison argues, but it doesn’t make her feel any better. “And I’d guess Stiles is the same way with Ashley.”

“That doesn’t matter, Allison,” Lydia breathes out, rubbing her temples. “Cheating is cheating. I didn’t...I didn’t even mean to do it. I just...I’m not sure what to do. Stiles didn’t even seem weird afterward. Well, not like a ‘oh God, I cheated on my girlfriend!’ kind of weird.” 

“Just break it off with Jackson,” Allison explains, smiling slightly at her for comfort. “I know you want to like him, but you will never feel the same way for him as you do Stiles. It’s waste of time and feelings.”

“But I  _ do  _ like him. I’m just...torn. If I do stay with him, I’ll have to tell him what I did.” Lydia gulps at the thought, and wipes her palms on her pants. “I wonder if Stiles will tell her.”

“You know what?” Allison asks, grabbing Lydia’s hand. “You’re under enough stress as it is. You don’t have to worry about any of this until you go back to school, so just forget about it for now, and put it off for as long as possible. I brought some card games; let’s play.”

“Sounds great,” Lydia laughs, feeling relief. Sometimes all you need is a friend.


	30. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really just a filler chapter, but I promise the next few will be better :)

Her mom wakes up at three a.m. the following morning. Lydia and Allison are both asleep when it happens, but as soon as it does, Lydia’s instincts kick in and she wakes up. 

“Oh God, Mom, how are you feeling?! You scared me to death.” Lydia laughs and cries, hugging her. 

“I'm fine, Lydia,” Her mom smiles, but she looks exhausted. 

“How did it even happen? I was about to come home from school and then I got the call and...I was so scared.” Lydia bites her lip, with more tears filling in her eyes. 

“I was just driving home after work, and I could barely see from the rain anyway. But then, in the blink of an eye, some...dog got in front of the vehicle. To be honest, it looked more like a wolf than a dog. I swerved, and hit a tree.” She sighs, her eyelids visibly heavy. “That’s the last thing I remember.”

“I'm so glad you're okay. Also...maybe it was a wolf, Mom. Apparently a lot of people have been seeing them lately. That's crazy, right? I didn't even know they were around here.” Lydia sighs, rubbing her moms hand with her thumb. 

“I know. I've never seen them before. But anyway, I'm fine, Lydia. I'm just very tired right now.” She takes in a breath, and Lydia can tell she's already about to fall asleep again. Allison is in the chair Stiles had been in earlier, sound asleep with a blanket thrown over her. 

“Okay,” Lydia nods, trying to hold herself together. Her mom looks at her for a second, and then smiles. 

“Come here,” She scoots over, and pats the bed beside her. Lydia smiles and climbs in next to her, getting under the blanket. She feels like a kid again, snuggling up to her mom and holding her hand. “I love you, Lydia.”

“Love you too, mom.” Lydia smiles, and lets her eyes fall closed. She's content, as she dozes off to sleep. 

A nurse wakes her up at what feels like six a.m., although she isn't certain. She groggily gets out of her mom's narrow bed, and slinks down back into the chair she was in last night. 

“Would you and your friend mind exiting this room for a few hours while we do some tests on your mother? We need to make sure her health is still in check.” The nurse smiles, and Lydia stands up.

“Mmm, yeah, we’ll get out of the way,” She yawns, and then goes and taps Allison's shoulder to wake her up. “Come on, we have to get out.”

“Okay,” Allison croaks, standing up but keeping her eyes shut. Her and Lydia both are practically walking blind through the hospital; their eyes are still unable to open from exhaustion. 

Allison has a blanket over her shoulders as they walk into the waiting room. They go up to the couch, and Lydia falls onto one side, and Allison is on the other. They don't speak at all, or even notice if anyone else is in the waiting room; they just sleep. 

Lydia doesn't know how long she's been asleep, when she smells the faint scent of coffee. She’s still halfway in a dream, so it makes sense that she would reach out and grab for it.

Bad idea. 

She fully wakes up when she's already falling halfway to the floor. She desperately pulling at the blanket, but it's not attached to anything at the other end, so she ends up falling anyway. She hits the floor with a thud, and groans. 

“Are you alright?” She hears a familiar voice above her, so she squints one of her eyes open. It's Scott. He quickly sets two cups on a table next to the couch, and lends her a hand to help her up. Allison’s snoring on the other side of the couch. 

“Thanks, Scott,” Lydia laughs, yawning and stretching. She notices his smile as he looks at Allison. Even with her mouth wide open with snores, he still looks at her like he's love struck. 

“You're welcome,” He turns back, smiling at Lydia. “Oh, and these coffees are for you guys. I know there's coffee here, but I've been in this place long enough to know it doesn't have very good coffee.”

“Thanks, Scott. That's really thoughtful,” Lydia takes a cup he's handing to her, and sits back down on the couch. Even though she's sitting on Allison’s legs, Allison doesn't even move an inch. As soon as Lydia reaches over and waves the coffee under her nose, though, she immediately sits up. 

Her hair is sticking out in all different directions, she has drool on her cheek, and she's yawning. 

“Lydia how-” She groans, before opening her eyes. Then she sees Scott. “Oh my God. Scott. Um...I'm gonna go, uh...I'll be right back.” She scampers off the couch, and out of the waiting room. She still looks beautiful, of course, but Lydia understands. If that was Stiles walking up while she was sleeping, the apocalypse would have started.

Lydia and Scott laugh when she runs out, and then sit down on the couch. 

“I really like her, Lydia. A lot.” Scott smiles, rubbing his hands together nervously. 

“She likes you a lot too. Trust me. She's always talking about you.” Lydia laughs, and Scott looks up at her with a grin. 

“Yeah?” He asks, like he can't believe it.

“Yeah.” Lydia replies, knocking her shoulder against his playfully. “Like I said. She really likes you too.”

“That's great.” He breathes out a visible sigh of relief, and is still smiling when Allison comes back in. 

“Good morning.” She walks in, tucking her hair behind her ear. She had fixed her hair, and wiped the drool from her face. 

“Hi,” Scott stands up, shoving his hands in his pocket. “I should have text you guys before - I'm sorry. But here, I brought you guys some coffee.” 

“Oh, thank you!” Allison smiles, and takes the coffee from his hand. “That's sweet.”

“What time is it?” Lydia asks, yawning again. “I'm starving.” 

“Uhhh, almost twelve.” Scott answers, looking at his phone. “Stiles should actually-”

“I'm here.” Stiles walks in, holding bags of food. Lydia is watching in awe, as he does something as simple as rearranging the table to put it in front of the couch, and then setting some armchairs around it. Until now, Lydia had almost forgotten that they had kissed. The longer she stays around him, the worse this feels. 

“I brought some Chinese. I also have some burgers and fries; I figured you guys were pretty hungry. Hospital food is pretty sick.” He laughs, sitting down on the chair. “Well? Are you gonna eat?”

“Oh, yeah.” Lydia laughs, sitting down on the couch across from him. “I'm really hungry actually. Thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks Stiles!” Allison smiles, sits down next to Lydia, and starts eating. Lydia follows suit, and chomps down on a burger, letting her eyes practically roll into the back of her head. She has been so overwhelmed with worry, that she hasn’t even realized how hungry she is until now. 

“No problem.” He nods, looking at Lydia. Once again she can feel him staring, but she pretends not to notice. He's probably glaring at her, anyway.

Halfway through a box of Mu Shu pork, a nurse walks into the waiting room. Her eyes roam around for a few seconds, before landing on Lydia. The box almost falls out of Lydia’s hands as she hurriedly sits up. She sets it down on the table, and then almost trips on her way to the nurse. She decides that she's going to think about that embarrassing moment later instead of now. 

“Your mother is finished with tests, but she needs some rest. It was straining on her energy, so she needs all of the sleep she can get.” The nurse smiles, clutching a clipboard to her chest.

“How is she? Those tests went on for like...a long time.” Lydia laughs nervously, and scratches the back of her neck. 

“Only about two hours. It may have seemed early when I woke you up, but it was almost ten a.m..” She laughs, and Lydia's mouth dropped.

“Really? Wow, it felt like five in the morning. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep through the night I think, though. Anyway, thank you! I'm glad she's doing okay.” Lydia smiles, and exhales with relief. 

“No problem. I'm glad she is too.” The nurse assures her, smiling. She's turning to walk out, when Scott suddenly appears beside them.

“Hey, Mrs. Sara. Have you seen mom around? I know she has a shift right now, but I'm not exactly sure in which section.” Scott asks her, and Lydia suddenly remembers the story Stiles told her. Scott's mom is a nurse here. 

“Scott! I didn't know you were here. She's on the third level, in the heart surgery department. Do you and Miss Martin know each other?” She asks, smiling as she looks at Lydia. Being called “Miss Martin” has always felt weird. 

“She's my girlfriends best friend, and my friend, too. Me and Stiles have been coming to check on them.” He answers, smiling like always. 

“Oh, okay. Well I'll see you guys around; I better get back.” She laughs, and then walks out. 

“Hey, I'm gonna go grab my mom really quick. I want you guys to meet her.” Scott looks excited as he kisses Allison’s forehead, and then bolts out of the waiting room. 

“Don't worry,” Stiles laughs at Allison’s obvious nervousness as he eats out of a take out box. “His mom is cool. Hot, too.”

“Gross.” Allison and Lydia groan in unison, and he laughs. 

“Hey,” Lydia sits up, getting a closer look at his box. “You're eating my food!”

“You set it on the table,” He shrugs, moving the food around with his chopsticks. “I thought you were finished.”

“You knew I wasn't finished!” She crosses her arms angrily, still hungry. 

“How was I supposed to know that?” He asks, keeping his cool and calm exterior intact. “You set it down and walked away.”

“Oh God, I'm so sorry I went to go make sure my mom wasn't dead. My bad.” She retorts, laying back down on the couch. He laughs, and keeps eating. 

“Mom, this is Allison and Lydia.” Scott walks in with his hand around his mom's shoulders. 

“Nice to meet you, Miss McCall.” Allison is already there, shaking her hand and smiling. 

“Nice to meet you too, Allison. Wow. The famous Allison. You know, Scott hasn’t stopped talking about you for weeks.” His mom laughs, and Allison has a faint blush on her cheeks. “And you must be Lydia! You two are just beautiful.”

“Yes, I am, and thank you! I can see the resemblance between you and Scott.” Lydia laughs, looking at them.

“Oh yes, I've heard he takes after me.” Miss McCall replies, ruffling Scott’s hair. 

They have some more small talk after that. Mostly about Lydia's mom, how she's doing, and when Miss McCall thinks she'll be able to leave. Then she has to go back to work, so they all sit back down again. 

After a few minutes, Lydia’s phone starts buzzing in her pocket. She opens it, and sees that it's Jackson. She had meant to text him earlier. 

“Hey, guys, I'm gonna go to the vending machines and grab a snack or two. I'll be right back.” She mutters, with her eyes glued to her phone. She glances up every few seconds as she walks, but for the most part she's focusing on her phone. She's been getting texts from him all morning without even realizing. 

“Hey,” “how is she?,” and “can I come visit?,” are only a few of the texts she received. She's texting him back with a reply of “Yes!,” when she feels arms slip around her waist from behind. They're strong and tight, as she gets pulled backwards into a room. 

“You need to be more careful.” The voice tells her quietly, and she immediately turns around. Stiles’ hand are on her waist now, and his eyes were a little too slow to snap up to hers. She gulps. “I'm always saving you, aren't I?”

“Saving me? From what?” She asks, furrowing eyebrows. 

“Apparently a towel cart.” He has a smug smile on his face, which annoys her even more. “You should always look both ways.”

“Well...thank you.” She huffs, at least owning up to the fact that he probably did save her. She's always running into something.

“No problem.” He replies, smiling as he stares in her eyes. She wonders for a second if he's going to ask her about the kiss, or even just  _ talk  _ about it. That was only a fleeting thought, though. 

“Let's go. I'm still hungry too.” He replies, walking ahead of her and into the hallway. Lydia hesitates back for a second, trying to process everything.

She hates how cryptic Stiles Stilinski can be when he wants to. 


	31. Favor for a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are really going to start happening from here on out, so sit tight!

Lydia (dreadfully) goes back to school on Tuesday. She wanted to be with her mom on Monday, the first day she got home, so she was excused from other classes. Tuesday, though, her mom practically forced her to go back.

The weekend was...uneventful, to say the least. Scott and Stiles had left not long after the hallway incident, because they had lacrosse practice. On a Saturday. Stupid lacrosse.

Other than that, Lydia and Allison just laid around. They did play a few rounds of hide and seek though, until a nurse caught them, and they pitifully went back to the waiting room.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, Mom?” Lydia asks, trying one more time to get out of going to school. “I really want to go to school, but I’ll stay if you need me too.”

“Nice try, Lydia. Now go.” Her mom laughs as Lydia hugs her one last time, and sighs.

“Okay,” She groans and laughs, pulling away. “Bye, Mom. Call if you need anything.”

“I will. Have a good day at school, honey.”

“I won’t!” Lydia laughs, shutting the front door behind her.

When she gets to school, she feels...nervous for some reason. She decides that it's because she gets to see Jackson. That must be it.

Allison and Lydia are against the lockers like they are every morning; talking and groaning about how tired they are.

“Are you two ever going to talk about the kiss?” Allison says under her breath, and Lydia immediately widens her eyes and puts a hand over Allison’s mouth.

“Shut the hell up!” She whispers, and Allison muffles out a laugh behind Lydia’s hand. “We can’t talk about this here. Stiles is...he’s everywhere. He’s always sneaking up, even if he isn’t meaning to.”

Surprisingly, he doesn’t sneak up right then.

“We _are_ going to talk about it here. And now.” Allison pulls Lydia’s hand from her mouth, and raises an eyebrow.

“Okay, then what do you want to talk about? He kissed me because I was having a panic attack. It worked. I don’t know what else you want to talk about!” She whispers loudly which, until now, she didn’t know was possible.

“I gave you an entire weekend to ignore all of this. Now it’s to face up to it! So what are you going to do?” Allison asks, begging for Lydia to be serious.

“What am I going to do? Hmm. Go to class, eat lunch, go back to class, and then go home and take care of mom. That’ll make it a day.” Lydia throws her hoodie in her locker, and then shuts it.

“I’m going to kill you.” Allison groans, and thumps Lydia’s arm. Lydia whines in pain, rubbing the spot Allison hit. Then Scott walks towards them, and Allison sighs. “Don’t think this conversation is over.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lydia waves her off, closing her eyes and leaning back against the locker as Scott and Allison start making out.

Lydia starts sleepily thinking about what could happen when her and Stiles finally talk about the kiss. _If_ they ever talk about the kiss.

_“Um...you were having a panic attack. Of course I was going to kiss you if it helped. I already told Ashley - she didn't care because it was nothing, Lydia. Did you...did you really think it was?”_

No. If it's _her_ dream, she wants it to go _her_ way.

_“I mean...I like you. Since the first day I ever laid eyes on you, Lydia, I’ve loved you. But I knew you would never like a guy like me, so I pushed my feelings away. But right there in the hospital, I couldn't help but kiss you. All of my feelings for you from these years just built up, and I couldn't help myself. And I really want to kiss you again right now.” He would say, smiling slightly as he leaned in closer, and closer, and closer, until-_

“Didn't get much sleep last night?” She hears, making her eyes snap open. Jackson is standing there smiling, holding something behind his back.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Lydia laughs, turning slightly so she could wipe the drool from her face. “But yeah, I haven't gotten much since the accident.”

“Maybe it'll be better tonight since everything has kind of calmed down,” Jackson says sympathetically as he kisses her forehead.

“God, I hope so,” she laughs, wrapping her arms around his waist. Wow, he's muscular.

“Hey,” Stiles says coolly, walking up to the others with his arm slung around Ashley's shoulders. They look like they're celebrities, which...they kind of are in this school, she realizes.

“Hey,” Replies Lydia, trying not to think of her daydream earlier. It's hard to look at him and think about it; mostly because she feels wrong for doing it.

“How's your mom?” He asks, looking down at the hand she has around Jackson. He looks back in her eyes, hardening his expression

“She's good. Our neighbor is going to check on her every hour or so to make sure she's okay. And she has me on speed dial.” She laughs, not even realizing how tight her grip on Jackson is now. He doesn't seem to mind though, because he wraps his arms around her too.

"Do you guys need anything?" Jackson asks, and she turns and looks up at him. He is hot. Like, extremely hot. And for some reason, right here in this hallway, she doesn't get why they're together. It doesn't make sense. And _she_ cheated on _him._ God, she's such a complete asshole. "I can go grab food or medicine; anything you need."

"No, I think we're okay, Jackson," Lydia smiles at him and gulps, completely mesmerized in the curve of his jawline, and the coldness of his eyes. Everything about him is hard and put together in a way Lydia has never seen in another person. He looks like he was beautifully carved from a marble slab. He doesn't seem real.

"Thank you, though," She smiles at him, and he laughs and pulls her closer. She loses her breath when he laughs like that; especially because of her.

"No problem," He whispers, looking in her eyes as his hand slides around to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Only at the last second does he look at her lips, before he presses his against hers. He holds her waist in place as she puts her hands on his arms, getting nearer to him.

Somewhere not so distantly in her mind, she wonders what Stiles thinks about all of this. Is he worried? Does he even care that he cheated? Does he wonder about her the way she wonders about him?

They pull away when the bell rings, and Lydia goes to class on a high. She’s dazed and smiling, and she basically stares at the wall with a grin on her face the entire class period. She can’t even figure out her own emotions.

Lydia and Stiles didn’t even look at each other during lunch. In fact, neither did much talking at all. Lydia just moved her fork around her food, not sure what to do or say. She doesn’t feel good about any of this, and she can hardly take it much longer. She has to either talk to Stiles or Jackson, and neither sound very fun at the moment.

She’s in class, trying to find the right time to talk to Stiles. She decides that she should talk to Stiles before she talks to Jackson. She needs to understand _why_ it happened, and what his motives were. That could make all the difference in whether she should even tell Jackson or not.

“Lydia,” Stiles says, leaning against the wall outside of her last class. She practically jumps at that, because the last thing she was expecting was Stiles to be there waiting. “Sorry - didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s...it’s okay.” She laughs, breathing out. She’s not sure how to react to this. “What’s up?”

“Can I talk to you?” He asks, pushing himself off the wall and looking down at her.

She thinks of how firm and sharp Jackson is. Perfect smile, perfect hair, perfect body. Stiles isn't like that. Yes, he's breath taking, but not perfect. Not the way Jackson is, anyway, but both are beautiful in their own way. While Jackson is hard in his looks, Stiles is soft. He may have a sour attitude sometimes, but his eyes and mouth and movements are kind and easy and warm. She's seen that in his words too, and she knows he doesn't show it often. His kiss, she remembers, was the same way. He was so gentle and vulnerable then, like it was a different version of the one she's standing in front of now. She wonders if Ashley sees this in him, or if he ever even shows it to her.

She doesn’t know if she can get out words, so she just nods. He leads the way to the supply closet, and then they stand in there in silence for about fifteen seconds.

“Okay, you were the one who wanted to talk,” Lydia points out, forcing herself not to look at his lips. He pushes his lips together then, and she sees the gears working in his head, trying to think of something to say. That, of course, triggers the nervous talk from Lydia. “Also, aren’t you supposed to be at lacrosse practice? And, really, is this the best place for us to talk? It doesn’t have the best history in the department of Stiles and Lydia talks.”

“Will you...just shut up?” He laughs, shaking his head. He’s smiling, and she already feels the pressure of this being lifted off of her shoulders.

“Yeah. Sorry.” She laughs too, scratching the back of her neck.

“So...your mom is okay, right?” He asks casually, and she just wants him to cut to the chase already.

“Um, yeah,” She nods, biting her lip and kicking at the floor aimlessly. “She’s great. The doctor is saying she’ll make a full recovery. Although...our financial situation begs to differ.” She laughs, trying to lighten the mood. He smiles, but she suddenly realizes how painfully embarrassing that was, so she clears her throat and looks away. “Those hospital bills, I mean...am I right?”

“Yeah, you are,” He laughs, and she gulps. She hates the way she can’t breathe around him.

“I know this famous ‘Stiles and Lydia meeting in the supply closet’ talk wasn’t just to ask how my mom is. What’s up?” She asks boldly, or, more accurately, with pretend boldness.

“I actually wanted to talk about what happened with us.” He breathes out, and she wants to scream at the top of her lungs, because he said ‘us’, referring to them, as in Stiles and Lydia. Us. “At the hospital, I mean. I...kissed you.”

“Oh. That.” She laughs, and then playfully punches him in the shoulder. “I...don’t know why I just did that. It was completely-”

“Lydia, I’m sorry that I kissed you.” He blurts out, and she steps back and tries to hold herself together. “I don’t know what was going through my head. You were panicking so I started panicking, and I knew if I _told_ you to hold your breath, it wouldn’t work very well since, you know, you were panicking. That was the only thing I could think of to do. And instead of us fighting again, I just wanted to apologize and get it out of the way. It seems like I’ve been apologizing a lot lately.”

“It’s...it’s fine, Stiles,” Lydia laughs, trying not to think about the fact that this is not at all how she wanted this confrontation to go. “I understand why you did it. It really helped, and I’m thankful for it. You shouldn’t have to apologize for that.”

She’s still hoping that any second he’ll take it all back, and kiss her again. She wants a more intimate kiss now; one where he wraps his arm around her back, and sets his other hand on her cheek. She wants to be able to run her fingers through his hair, and feel his body against hers. That will never happen though, unless it's in her always-rudely-interrupted dreams.

“I’m glad we talked about that.” He visibly sighs, and then licks his bottom lip with a small laugh. “Maybe this supply closet will be known as good instead of bad now. For future reference, of course.”

“So you think there will be future Stiles and Lydia talks in this supply closet?” She asks, laughing.

“Who knows? We always find something to talk about, don’t we?” He answers quietly, and she sees the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Stiles?” She calls him, right as he’s about to open the door and leave.

“Hmm?” He turns around gracefully, and looks directly in her eyes.

“What...um, what about Jackson and Ashley?” She asks, and even though it’s vague, he already knows what she’s referring to. A look of shame washes over his face, but only for a second.

“It was a favor for a friend. They may understand that, or they may not. I don’t want to test it and find out, do you?” He asks, and she breathes in and considers his words.

“You’re right.” She nods, realizing he’s right. They don’t want to start anything - especially if that something was nothing to begin with.

“See you at lacrosse practice then, Leia?” He asks, placing his hand on the doorknob but still looking at her.

“See you at lacrosse practice then, jerk.” She answers, giving a small smile. Then he disappears out the door, leaving her with her thoughts.

She may be confused about some things, but it’s clear to see that he has his mind made up about everything already. And that hurts more than she thought it would.


	32. Flirting

That same day, after lacrosse practice, they all decided to go to the diner to eat and grab some ice cream. Only after Lydia went by and checked on her mom, of course, who had been asleep on the couch when she arrived. So she left her a note, and snuck back outside to a waiting Allison.

Lydia feels like a weight has been lifted off of her shoulders. Obviously not pertaining to the fact that Stiles so blatantly told her the kiss meant nothing, but because of the fact that she doesn’t feel as guilty about cheating on Jackson. In all honesty, she didn’t kiss him;  _ he  _ kissed  _ her.  _ And yes, she didn’t stop him technically, but she wasn’t the one to initiate it. So why should she feel bad, anyway? 

“Let’s get a pie to share.” Scott suggests, examining the dessert section of the menu. 

“Dude, I don’t know if I can,” Stiles laughs, groaning and leaning his head on the back of his seat. “We just consumed vomit-worthy amounts of ice cream.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure I can either,” Allison laughs, wrapping herself around Scott, who kisses her head and smiles. Lydia wonders if her and Jackson will be able to feel that way for each other.

“I could go for some key lime,” Jackson shrugs, and Lydia feels like she’s going to be sick just  _ thinking  _ about having another bite of something. 

“Key lime it is!” Scott grins and shuts the menu, happy he has someone to share with. The rest of them groan, but Scott just laughs as he asks the waitress for a full key lime pie.

“So is this a regular thing now?” Stiles asks, which earns a few confused looks. He always seems to be thinking ahead of everyone else. “We finished Star Wars,” he goes on to explain, leaning forward with a small laugh. “I figured this should be a weekly basis kind of thing. Food then a movie. The geek actually has great taste in movies, I must say.”

“Shut up,” Lydia laughs, tossing a napkin at him. 

“Fine, fine,” He smiles, unfolding the napkin in his hand. “But I was serious about the other part. Once a week after lacrosse practice, we should all come eat, and then take turns choosing our favorites movies to watch. That way we all get a turn, and it’s something to look forward to during the school week.”

“That sounds so fun!” Allison claps, and Scott is smiling at her. 

“Yeah, let's do it.” He agrees, turning to look at Stiles. 

“I agree. It’s always nice to have something to look forward to.” Lydia shrugs, trying to act less excited than she really is. They’ll all hang out like this at least once a week now. She’s excited because she’s never had a friend group like this before. 

“Well, I’m in if she’s in,” Jackson replies, sitting relaxed against his seat. Ashley doesn’t speak, but she doesn’t roll her eyes like she normally does. She looks bored. 

“Great,” Stiles looks at Lydia, and nods his head as he sits back as well. “What day?”

“Middle of the week is the hardest. So how about on Wednesday nights?” Allison suggests, looking around the table for confirmation. 

“That’s good with me,” Stiles shrugs, setting his hand on Ashley’s leg. 

“Me too,” 

“Me three,”

“Awesome,” Allison grins, biting her lip. “Starting tomorrow?”

Stiles looks around the room, and upon seeing no protests, he says, “I guess that’s a yes.”

And they part with that. Allison sleeps over at Lydia’s house so they can watch over her mom, and they end up talking about Scott, Jackson, and...Stiles. Of course. 

“That reminds me,” Allison turns to her, raising an eyebrow. “You need to talk to Stiles about that kiss.”

“Actually,” Lydia laughs awkwardly, and pushes her lips together. “I need to tell you something.”

“Oh, God. Did you talk to him?! How could you not tell me thi-”

“-He talked to me.” Lydia cuts in, sighing. She bites her lip, and Allison sits up on the bed, looking down at her. 

“Um…” Allison narrows her eyes, letting her jaw drop open dramatically. “What the  _ hell?! _ ”

“Okay, I didn’t exactly have much free time to tell you about this, so sue me!” Lydia defends herself, sitting up across from her. 

“Explain.” Allison commands, completely engulfed in this story now. Just add popcorn, and her  _ ‘I’m ready to hear every detail of this’ _ look would be complete.

“After last class, I was...sort of freaking out. I didn’t know what to do. I was debating on finding Stiles and just...asking him about it. Because, you know, that’s not something we can just ignore forever. Anyway, as I was walking out of the classroom debating it, he stopped me. He was outside the room waiting for me.” She shrugs, trying not to smile at the thought. Allison is just staring; waiting for Lydia to begin again. “Then he said he wanted to talk to me, so he took me inside the supply closet, which led to me almost passing out. He made small talk about how my mom was doing for a minute, which was...a little weird, but, again, I was about to pass out, so who cares, right? So finally he got to what he was trying to say.”

“Yeah?” Allison leans in closer, noticeably taking in a breath.

“He said he was sorry. That he panicked because I did, and it was wrong for him to have done it. He wasn’t thinking, apparently. So I told him not to apologize because it really helped.” Lydia looks at Allison and shrugs, trying to act like it’s no big deal, and that she doesn’t care. She shouldn’t care. 

“Lydia. You can pretend around them all you want, but don’t pretend around me.” She says softly, and Lydia looks at her hands and nods.

“I know. I’m mostly trying to convince myself that it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t matter. I’m just...I’m trying.” She gulps, shaking her head. 

“It’s okay. I understand.” Allison hugs her, patting her back. “It’ll be fine, Lyd.”

“I know, I know,” Lydia pulls away and laughs, taking a deep breath. “I asked him if we should talk to Ashley and Jackson about it.”

“Yeah? What did he say?” Allison asks, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“He said that it was just a favor for a friend, and that they may not understand that. He didn’t want to take the risk.” Lydia tells her, and Allison gasps.

“Really?” She grins, laughing. “He really said that?” 

“Wh-...What exactly am I missing here?” Lydia asks, suddenly riddled with confusion. “Allison what the hell!”

“Don’t be so naive, Lydia!” Allison laughs again, shaking her head. “Fine, if you really want me to spell it out for you, he’s  _ scared to tell Ashley _ .”

“Of course he is! I’m scared to tell Jackson!” Lydia replies, huffing with aggravation.

“Think, Lydia. Why are  _ you  _ scared to tell Jackson? Because you like Stiles, right? And you feel guilty, because you actually  _ wanted  _ to kiss him. But if it was just a favor like Stiles said, then what does he have to lose by telling Ashley about it? Imagine if you didn’t like Stiles at all. If he did that as a friend, really trying to help you, then I know you wouldn’t even care to tell Jackson about it. It didn’t mean anything. So Stiles...he must be scared to tell Ashley. Maybe she thinks something’s up between you two, and that would just confirm it.” Allison explains, and Lydia swallows thickly. 

“If he liked me, wouldn’t he just break it off with her? Wouldn’t this be the perfect time? And why would Ashley even think something was up between us anyway?” Lydia rolls her eyes, falling back down against the bed dramatically. 

“Oh, come on, Lydia, you know.” Allison shakes her head, laughing. 

“No, I really don’t,” Lydia answers, feeling clueless for the fiftieth time tonight. 

“You and Stiles, you know…flirting,” She shrugs, grinning. “Everyone notices it.”

“What the hell do you mean?!” Lydia scoffs and sits up, widening her eyes in disbelief. “We do not...we don’t flirt!”

“Lydia! Oh my God. The banter, the smiles...the way you guys always throw stuff at each other. Oh, and when he called you a geek today?” Allison gushes and sighs with a smile on her face. “And I know you guys don’t even mean to do it. It just happens naturally, which makes it even better.”

“Allison, you have to be joking! That’s not us flirting! If you’ve forgotten, he thinks I’m a total loser!” Lydia blushes, nervous to think that they had all been reading it as flirting this whole time. Oh God, maybe that’s why Ashley hates her so much. Has Jackson seen it this way too?!

“That’s a total act! He hits on you all the time. It may be just because he flirts with everyone, but he still does it. Don’t be blind, Lyd.” Allison laughs, falling back on the bed next to her. “Maybe I should ask Scott and see what he thinks.” She adds as an afterthought.

“NO!” Lydia shouts, gasping. “ _ Please _ do not do that. I would die of humiliation. If I don’t soon anyway, that is.” 

“Okay, okay, fine!” She laughs, grabbing her arms to calm her down. “Relax. Jeez, I thought you must have noticed it by now. But anyway, we better go to sleep. It’s almost one am on a school night.”

“I hope I die in my sleep. Actually, will you do the honors?” Lydia asks, throwing a pillow over her face. “Make it quick and painless. Just put me out of my misery.”

“Oh shut up - It’s not that bad.” Allison laughs, wrapping her arms around Lydia and squeezing her in a tight hug. “It’ll all be fine. You’ll be fine.”

“Ugh, just let me wallow in self pity.” Lydia whines, and reaches up to turn the lamp off. 

“Sorry, that’s not part of the best friend package.” Allison laughs, propping her chin on Lydia’s shoulder and closing her eyes. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Lydia grumbles, trying to think about how Allison could possibly go to sleep right now. It’s hard to imagine, when Lydia knows that she’ll probably fall asleep about twenty minutes before her alarm goes off. God, she wishes they had this talk tomorrow morning instead of right before bed. 

She prayed she would be wrong about the restless sleep, but she wasn’t. She only got about an hour of sleep last night. The alarm rang through her head like a bell at a church. Loud and annoying. 

“I hate this damn alarm clock!” Lydia slams her fist on it, and covers her head with a pillow. “I’m skipping today.”

“No, you aren’t.” Allison yawns, and pulls the pillow off her head. “Get up. I’ll go make some coffee.”

“Coffee?” She sits up just hearing the word, her eyes half open. 

“I’ll be right back,” Allison laughs and stretches, walking out. Lydia drags herself out of bed finally, and takes a shower. It helps wake her up a little, but even by the time she gets out, she’s still about half asleep. Allison’s putting makeup on in her Lydia’s mirror when she returns. 

“Your coffee’s over there,” Allison gestured vaguely toward the bedside table, and then took a small sip of her own. 

“Oh, thank God,” Lydia moans, and rushes to it. 

“Get dressed first!” Allison laughs, making her stop in her tracks and roll her eyes. 

“Fine,” She huffs, throwing on a t-shirt and sweats. Sometimes she dresses up and fixes her hair, but today...well, today isn’t one of those days. 

Jackson is already waiting at her locker when they arrive at school. When Allison notices this, she starts walking a different direction. Not obvious at all, Allison!

“Hey,” Lydia raises an eyebrow, happy to see him but still curious. 

“Hi,” He smiles, and she can’t help but notice a slight look of nervousness written in his emotions. He also has his hands behind his back like yesterday, which seems sort of strange. Something’s up. Her thoughts immediately fall to the kiss. What if he knows?

“You’re here earlier than normal.” She laughs, grabbing her books from her locker. “What’s up?”

“I have something for you.” He smiles, and she turns around and laughs. 

“Really?” She bites her lip, grinning. 

“Here,” He moves his hands from behind his back, revealing a bracelet. It’s silver with small blue diamonds encrusted every quarter inch. 

“Oh my God,” She gasps, covering her hand over her mouth. “You...you did not get that for me.”

“I did.” He laughs, grabbing her wrist. He puts it on, and latches the back securely. “Do you like it?”

“Like it? God, Jackson, I love it. It’s beautiful! You...you shouldn’t have.” She looks at it, and then up at him. 

“I really wanted to. I hope it’s not too soon or anything. I actually brought it yesterday, but it didn’t seem like the right time.” He laughs, and she keeps staring down at it in disbelief.

“Thank you so much,” She laughs with him, and reaches up to hug him. He puts his arms around her and squeezes lightly. 

“I’m just glad you like it.” He pulls away with a smile, a perfect smile, and she kisses him. Even through all of this happiness, she feels sick to her stomach because of what she did. She can’t tell him, though. She can’t.

“Let’s go on another date this weekend, yeah?” She asks, pulling away and smiling. By this time, she can see Stiles, Scott, and Allison walking towards them in her peripheral vision.

“That sounds great.” He kisses her again, laughing into it. He hoists her up and presses her against the lockers, making them both break out into a fit of laughter. They kiss in between those laughs, and Lydia can feel the raging jealousy of all girls within a ten mile radius. How is she the one dating Jackson Whittemore when everyone at Beacon Hills wants him? It just doesn’t make sense why he picked her.  

The rest of the day is good. Nothing else on the level of getting an expensive bracelet happened, but that moment had just made her happy for the remainder of it. Lydia feels completely guilty for the kiss. It’s not fair to Jackson, and he must be serious about this if he bought her the bracelet, right? So no more flirting with Stiles. Of course it wasn’t on purpose in the first place, but now she’s going to purposely try  _ not  _ to do it. So even when they all gather at the diner after school and eat, she doesn’t throw a napkin at him, or play along in their banter streak. From here on out, she’s as good as over Stiles Stilinski. Or on her way to it, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the positive feedback! I know this one ended not-so-perfectly, but it's on it's way to what you guys want!


	33. Guidance

It's been exactly a week since their first Wednesday-after-school-tradition started. They had gone out to eat, and then, with Scott’s pick on movies, watched Jurassic Park. They're planning on watching the second tonight, and then the third this weekend sometime. 

Just in this week, her mom has healed surprisingly well. She’s still bruised up pretty badly, but she’s able to walk around now, at least. Lydia had to skip school again on Friday so she could take her for a doctor check up. She missed the first lacrosse game of the season, but she pretended like she didn't care so her mom wouldn't feel bad. 

Speaking of lacrosse, Lydia has been…avoiding Stiles. Well, maybe ‘avoiding’ isn't the exact word. Maybe just ‘ignoring’ would fit better. 

They usually joke around and argue, but now, even when he says something to specifically annoy her, she doesn't play into it. She just pretends she doesn't hear, and let's him think she didn't. She knows he's smart. He's definitely figured out she's ignoring him now, but what can he do? This is the only way she’ll get over him, and he doesn't have a say in that. 

Her and Jackson went on a date last Friday as promised. She wore her bracelet on the date, just like every day since she's gotten it. They went to some fancy restaurant that Lydia would have never gone to on her own, and this time, of course, was Jackson's turn to pay for the date. He always picks expensive places when it's his turn. 

It went well. They ate, watched a movie, and then made out in his car in her driveway. He called her his girlfriend the other day, which, not surprisingly, made her stomach twist with anxious nerves. A good kind, though. 

But this week, Jackson can't come to the movie night. He had forgotten that he already promised Danny he would help him with lacrosse today. Apparently he's been having trouble with his aim or something. Lydia had lost interest after the word ‘lacrosse’. 

And if Jackson not being able to go wasn't enough, Lydia found out at lunch that Ashley can't make it either. Which is great, because all of this work she's put into ignoring Stiles is about to get ruined in the amount of time it takes for the second Jurassic Park to begin and end.

“Should we watch something else since Jackson and Ashley aren't coming?” Allison asks, hanging her phone up and setting it on the counter. She just got finished ordering pizza.

“He said go ahead; he doesn't mind.” Lydia tells her, leaning against the counter and tossing peanuts in the air and catching them in her mouth. Well, trying to at least. 

“Where is he anyway?” Scott asks, looking at Lydia. 

“At Danny’s house helping him with some kind of lacrosse technique. I don't know. I know nothing about sports.” She sighs, shoving her hand in the jar and grabbing a handful of peanuts.

“Oh - that reminds me; I left my stupid bag in the locker room at school. Christ, I do that every time.” Stiles groans, pushing his fingers through his hair. He just took a shower so he smells...amazing. And she can smell the wonderful hot-guy-straight-out-of-the-shower scent from all the way across the kitchen, which is even more distracting. 

“Oh, that sucks. Do you need it?” Allison asks, and Lydia is already stressed out from the  _ thought  _ of tonight. It's inevitable that she's going to have to talk to him. 

“Nah, it'll be fine,” he explains, shrugging. “I guess I can just get it tomorrow. It does have my phone charger in it, though, but if you guys will let me borrow yours then it's no biggie.” 

“Well me and Allison are about to go grab the pizza anyway. You and Lydia can just swing by and grab your stuff. We’ll just meet back here; it'll save time.” Scott offers, and Lydia turns her body so they don't see her suddenly choking on a peanut. 

“Yeah, we can do that.” Stiles says casually, and looks over at Lydia who's swallowing hard and coughing lightly. “If that's alright with Leia.”

“Mhmm. That's fine.” She nods, and he smiles. As soon as he turns back around, Lydia widens her eyes at Allison, who shrugs her shoulders with a grin on her face as to say  _ “don't look at me!”. _

“We can take my Jeep, then. Ready?” He asks, shoving his hand in his pocket to grab his keys. 

“Yeah, let's go.” Lydia follows behind him, and he’s right behind Scott and Allison. 

“See you guys in a few.” Scott waves at them, and then shuts the door of the car. Allison just waves with a knowing smile on her face, and Lydia rolls her eyes as she plops into the passenger side of Stiles’ Jeep.

It’s awkward. She’s been ignoring him, he knows she’s been ignoring him, and she knows that he knows she’s been ignoring him. She had really hoped that they weren’t going to have to have “one-on-one Stiles and Lydia time” for this exact reason.

“So,” he sighs a few minutes into the drive, looking straight ahead at the road. Lydia’s looking out the window with a horrible feeling in her stomach. Mostly guilt. “Are you going to tell me why you've been avoiding me or should I just guess?”

“Pfft, avoiding you?” She laughs, throwing her hands in the air. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Don't play dumb; I know you aren't.” He looks over at her, and she gulps. He turns his left turn signal on and looks back at the road. “I thought we were friends now. We've been getting along okay, and then you just stop talking to me altogether. I'm not sure what I've done. Maybe I’ve known the other times, but not this one.”

“Well, I'm talking to you now,” She sighs, not even trying to deny it anymore. “So let's just forget it.”

He looks at her again, trying to read her to see if she’s mad, upset, or indifferent. She looks away so he can't. She doesn’t even know herself, so why would she want someone else to? Especially if that person is Stiles.

“Did you really mean what you said about sports earlier?” He asks, and she looks over at him in surprise at the sudden topic change. He's staring at the stoplight, waiting for it to flicker to green. He apparently doesn’t want to fight just as much as she does, so that’s why he doesn’t reply to her rude comment. He could have easily continued the argument, but she’s glad he didn’t. Very glad.

“When I said that I don't know anything about sports?” She laughs, feeling a strange lump in her throat. “Yeah, it was true. I've never played; I'm not good. Like, at all.”

“Why do you come to lacrosse practice then?” He laughs, and her heart rate starts to pick up at the sound of his angelic laugh. “If you don't like sports.”

“I don't  _ dislike  _ sports, I'm just…not that interested in them. Plus Allison asks me to. And to see Jackson.” She shrugs, smiling. She hears him breathe in deeply next to her at the word ‘Jackson’. She doesn't know how to feel about that. “He said he likes seeing me in the stands. It helps him or something.”

“Here we are,” Stiles huffs, sliding his Jeep into park. Now he seems a little pissed off. “I’ll be back in a second.”

“Alright,” She replies, and he shuts the door. What a baby.

The sun is almost completely set now, and the air is starting to get cooler by the minute. The Jeep is parked in the closest lot to the field, and she can see the setting sun reflecting off of the bright green grass. She sits back in her seat, absorbing the beautiful setting, humming a song to herself. She opens her eyes for a second, looking to see if Stiles is on his way yet, but she spots something else. 

Stiles is out on the field, forcefully hitting the ball into a goal with a lacrosse stick. From this view, he looks angry. She watches him for a moment with curiosity, before deciding to get out of the Jeep.

“Stiles, what are you doing?” She yells, just loud enough for him to hear. He swings his arm and hits another ball, before turning around and setting the lacrosse stick on his shoulder. He smiles beautifully, showing off his teeth. She decides not to guess his mood so hastily next time, because right now, he looks happy. 

“You really want to see if you hate sports or not?” He asks, holding his arms out in  _ ‘come and try’ _ kind of way. A grin spreads across her face at that, and she laughs. 

“I told you I'm not good at them!” She shakes her head, and he shrugs his shoulders and then sets the front of his lacrosse stick in the top of the grass, propping himself up on it.

“How the hell do you know if you’ve never even tried?” He laughs, and she gulps. She hesitates for a second, and then shuts the door of his Jeep.

“Hell yeah!” He holds his fist and lacrosse stick in the air in victory, and she laughs as she sprints through the field towards him. 

“Oh  _ shit, _ ” She whines, falling onto her knees as she finally makes it to him. Then she completely falls on her face, and lays in the grass. 

“Weak!” Stiles laughs, sitting down next to her on the ground. He picks aimlessly at the grass, as she tries to catch her breath. She peeks one of her eyes open, and watches him. 

“I’m not  _ weak _ ,” She laughs, flipping over on her back. “Just very inept in running.”

“Sports can help with that, you know,” He looks down at her, giving a half smile. If she wasn’t breathless before, she would be now. 

“I’m not just saying I can’t play for no reason, Stiles,” She laughs, and then looks up at the sky. “I’m, like, not built for that stuff. I fall on my face just walking; imagine what it would be like if I had to wear that heavy gear, run, and have to hit stuff with that.” She points to his lacrosse stick. “The world would actually end as we know it.”

“Shut up,” He laughs, and shakes his head. “It’s not just about balance. It’s about precision, focus, sharpness. It’s about keeping solidarity in your mind, so you can create disorder outside of it.”

She’s watching him speak those beautiful, elegant words, and she can see the passion behind his eyes. And so right now, this easily, she falls back to the same spot she’s been for years. Completely in love with Stiles Stilinski.

“Come on,” He stands over her, smiling and holding his hand out. She blinks out of her reverie, and grabs his hand. 

“What are we doing?” She asks, laughing as he drags her to the middle of the field where the balls are sitting. 

“You’re going to play lacrosse.” He walks backwards, smiling at her. 

“Stiles, I can't!” She protests, but the laugh behind it ruined the serious tone she was trying to give.

“Here,” he hands her the lacrosse stick, and then crosses his arms. “Let's see what you can do. No gear or running; just the throwing the ball in the goal part. It's that simple.”

“God, okay,” She breathes out, and then positions herself. She pushes her lips together, and swings the lacrosse stick back in practice. “This is going to be embarrassing.”

“It's not golf, Lydia,” He laughs, and not even seconds later he has his arms around her. His chest is against her back, his hands are on top of hers, and she can feel his breath on her neck. She gulps.

“Well I've never played before, so you can't think I'm going to start off on, like, expert level,” she laughs, and can feel the nervous-babbling-instinct kick in. 

“Here's your first mistake,” His hand runs down her leg, and then he moves it closer to the other. She has chills on her skin where his fingers touched. “You don't have to space your legs out.”

“Okay,” she nods, trying as hard as she can to keep her breath even. And it’s stupid too, because this is like the most cliche chick flick moment in history. But now she understands what it’s like, and she’ll never be able to make fun of those scenes ever again.

“Then hold it in the air, and swing it back,” he pulls it up, and her arms are touching his, and his soft, large hands are on top of hers. “And...go.”

He suddenly swings forward and throws the ball with force, and she wasn't expecting it at all. She watches as the ball flies through the air, and perfectly lands in the middle of the goal. 

“See? Easy.” He hums really closely to her ear, and leaves her with that. She turns around and looks at him, rolling her eyes. He shrugs and laughs.

“I... _ I  _ can't do that,” she laughs, pushing the lacrosse stick into his chest. “That wasn't me at all. It was all you.”

“It was a guidance lesson. Now try on your own.” He grabs the lacrosse stick that's pressed to his chest, and slowly pushes it off. She tears her eyes away from his, and turns back around. She tries to remember what he said. She keeps her legs close, puts the ball in the net, breathes in, and swings. 

And...it goes nowhere. It didn't even leave the net.

“Go again,” he tells her, but he's not laughing like she thought he would be. “Use more force.”

“This sucks,” she groans, and positions herself again. “And it's embarrassing.”

“You're not going to be perfect the first hit.” He tells her, laughing lightly. She's about to hit again, when she feels his hands on her waist. “Try and keep your hips straight, and just swing your torso.”

“Yeah, I, uh...okay,” she says, laughing nervously. She suddenly feels feverish and hot, and it’s not from the weather. Her hands are shaking now too, and she can't focus to save her life.

She swings, and his hands are now keeping her hips in place. This time it leaves the net, but flies right over the goal.

“Better,” He laughs, and she swallows thickly and has to breathe out of her mouth. “The force is...great. You just need to work on the aim now.” 

So after another three equally terrible efforts, she finally makes it in. 

“Holy shit!” She drops the lacrosse stick on the field, laughing. She throws her fists in the crisp air, hearing her voice echo in the empty field. She holds her hand up for a high five. “I can play sports!”

“See?” He smiles, hitting her hand with his. “Told you it's fun. Well, it’s really only persistently fun when you're good at it.” 

“Shut up!” She laughs, pushing his chest playfully. He's smiling as he grabs her hand before it reaches him, stopping it. Her smile disappears slowly, and she takes in a sharp breath. He still has a hint of a smile on his lips, as he looks in her eyes. He drops her hand, and then looks up at the sky. 

“I came back here this summer to practice a lot. I always came in the evening so I could look at the stars. The sky’s so clear out here.” He smiles at the thought, and she's biting her lip because he is just unbearably beautiful, and she literally can't breathe.

He turns to her, and she quickly looks away from his lips and up to his eyes, hoping he doesn't notice. 

“I'll be right back,” he tells her, and before she even processes anything, he's already sprinting off the field. 

“Stiles, where the hell are you going? If you leave me I swear to God I-” She yells, and he turns around, laughing.

“I'm not leaving you, Lydia!” He tells her, and then turns back around, laughing as he disappears into the darkness. 

She stands there, biting her lip with a grin on her face. She rolls her eyes, and waits. Only a few minutes later, the lights over the field shut off. It's pitch black. Her nerves are immediately shot, and she takes in a deep breath. 

“Stiles?” She calls out into the abyss of darkness, but she gets no response. “Shit,” she whispers under her breath, running her fingers through her hair. “Stiles where the hell-”

“Boo!” He grabs her, and she screams. She can't see him, but he covers her mouth with his hand. “Shh,” he laughs, and she pushes him.

“You're such an asshole!” She breathes out, laughing. “God, that scared me to death.”

“That was the goal.” He sighs, and she can imagine the smug smile on her face. 

“Christ, I can't see anything. Why'd you turn the light off?” She huffs, switching her phone's flashlight on. Stiles is standing in front of her, squinting his eyes at the sudden bright light. 

“So we can see the stars, Lydia. Obviously.” He smiles, knocking his shoulder with hers. Suddenly he sits down on the grass, and she stares down at him.

“Well?” He asks, locking his fingers together behind his head, and laying down on them. “You gonna join me or what?”

“Sure,” She laughs, laying down next to him. “I love this weather.”

“Yeah, me too,” he sighs contently, and she switches her flashlight off as she lays down on the cool grass. Their arms are brushing against each others, and even though she knows it's probably immature, her heart is racing like crazy. She feels thirteen again.

“Orion's belt is my favorite constellation,” He explains quietly, even though no one else is out there to here them talking anyway. “I can see the belt, but it's really easy to interpret it other ways. Sometimes I wish it wasn't named ‘Orion's Belt’, because once you hear that, it's all you see. But when you don't know the name, you can see anything you want to see.”

“What do you see?” She asks, turning to him. Her eyes are adjusting to the darkness now, and the moon is shining on the field. His face is covered in the light, and she can see every curve of his face highlighted by it. He just stares up at the sky. She wants to kiss him so badly that the yearning is forming a pain in her chest.

“Don't laugh,” he smiles, turning to look at her. 

“Never,” She shakes her head, and he still has the smile on his face when he turns back to look at the sky. 

“When I was a kid, I was completely obsessed with Pokemon,” he laughs softly, covering his face in his hands. 

“You see a _Pokemon_ in the sky?!” Lydia bursts out in laughter, and he nudges her arm. “God, and you call  _ me  _ a geek.”

“You said you wouldn't laugh!” Stiles scoffs, and she bites her lip, trying to hide a smile. It doesn’t work though, because she belts out in laughter again. It takes a few minutes for her laugh to die down, because it's just _so funny_ to her how he can see a Pokemon in the stars.  


“God, okay...I’m done,” She sighs, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes. “Which one is it that you see?”

“Chansey,” He replies sheepishly, and shrugs his shoulders. “Always been my favorite.”

“What?! Noooooo!” She laughs, and he turns his head to look at her in surprise. “Ditto is the best. Although Chansey _is_ super cute; I'll give you that.”

“You play?” He asks, his smile lighting up his whole face. 

“Not much anymore, but yeah, when I was a kid. I still have my gameboy color somewhere in my room.” She tells him, and he sighs. 

“Man,” He looks at her, and then turns his head to look at the stars again. “Those were the days.”

“Yeah,” Lydia smiles, looking up with him. “They were.”

While Stiles may just view this as friends hanging out, it’s not like that for her. And right now, as she’s laying there looking at the stars beside him, she realizes that she has cheated on Jackson more tonight than she ever did the day her and Stiles kissed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was super long - I hope you all liked it! I had tons of fun writing this chapter.


	34. Sabotage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for 200 reviews! Here's another long chapter :)

Pain  _ and _ numbness. That’s what Lydia feels right now. Everything on her is cold, except for her chest and stomach; they’re burning up for some reason. Sweaty, in fact. Her arm is lodged under something heavy too, and she feels tiny little needles stabbing into every part of it. She can’t even move her legs. She’s so tired, that it even takes her a second to panic. 

Her head is groggy as she lifts it up, and forces her eyes open. She knows she isn’t in her bed, that’s for sure. 

She can barely see because of how bright it is. Her arm is asleep, and she feels her surroundings with her free hand, trying to figure out where the hell she is. She feels dewy grass between her fingers, and there’s a brief moment of confusion before it hits her. 

The lacrosse field. 

She gasps, and then covers her mouth with her damp hand. Stiles is lying there asleep next to her. Well, under her, more like. He has an arm thrown over his chest, and then an arm around her waist. Their legs are wrapped around each others, and she figures out why her arm is asleep. It’s under his back. She had been laying on his chest. 

She wants to actually scream. How did this happen? Yes, they had stayed up decently late talking, but not  _ that  _ late! And shouldn’t Allison be worried to death right now? And Scott? This can’t be happening. 

Despite Lydia’s abrupt wake up, Stiles is still lying there as peaceful as ever. His breath is even, and while Lydia is trying to think about everything, he tightens his arm around her, pulling her closer. She pushes her lips together so she doesn’t yell.

It isn’t like they are  _ purposely  _ cuddling. No, they must have done it in their sleep. Does that make it any better, though? 

She squints her eyes shut as if it’ll make her be any less quiet, and then reaches in her pocket for her phone. Her arm brushes his hand, and he stirs, but doesn’t wake. She looks at her phone, and immediately notices the time: seven twenty-three. School starts in thirty-seven minutes. This is when she really starts to panic. 

She has about thirty texts from Allison, and a few from Jackson. She looks over at Stiles, and she can hardly even breathe. She can’t believe she did this. Jackson is committed. Hell, he even bought her a bracelet. But now look at her. Kissing someone, flirting with that same someone, and then falling asleep with them. She always thought Jackson was a horrible user of girls who would cheat and lie. Now he’s being everything she always imagined  _ she _ would be in a relationship; loyal, caring, faithful.  Now she’s the one being a liar and cheater. 

“Stiles,” She says, trying not to start full panic mode. He breathes in, but his chest falls again evenly. “Stiles!” She says louder, poking him. 

“Mmmm,” He groans, blinking his eyes open. He looks confused for a second, as he sits up and takes in his surroundings. He shakes his arm out, probably trying to wake it up. 

“I guess we fell asleep last night.” She shakes her head, gulping. Now what?

“Oh shit,” He laughs, and then lays back down on the grass, stretching.

“It isn’t funny!” She huffs, standing up and pushing the dirt off of her jeans. 

“It is a little,” He shrugs, smiling up at her. He still has those beautiful sleepy eyes. If only it weren’t in this situation, she would have been able to enjoy this. “What time is it anyway?”

“Almost seven thirty. God, Stiles, what the hell do we do?” She bites her finger and walks around in circles, trying to think. 

“Relax,” He sighs, breathing in the morning air. “It’ll be fine.”

“Will it?!” She holds her arms out, gulping. “What about…” She bites her lip, and lowers her voice in shame. “What about Jackson? I...I shouldn’t have done this. I really have to go.”

“Lydia, stop,” He calls after her, voice defeated. But she just marches across the field, trying not to cry. She wishes this would have been a good thing instead of a horrible thing. How could her biggest childhood dream turn into a real-life nightmare?

She tries to think of what to do. She goes to the parking lot where Allison always parks her car, but she isn't there yet. So she sits down on the pavement, and calls her. The call rings and rings, but Allison doesn't pick up. So Lydia sighs, and waits there impatiently. It's only about five minutes later when Allison pulls up, and then slams on brakes when she she's Lydia sitting there. 

Lydia stands up and lets her pull her car in, and then she immediately jumps into the passenger seat and closes the door. 

“Allison I...I'm so sorry. I fell asleep. I didn't mean to ditch you guys last night - I don't know what's gotten into me. It was an accident.” She explains, quickly falling breathless.

“I know, Lydia,” Allison smiles, patting her back. 

“What?” Lydia asks, turning to her with wide eyes. “Weren't you worried? We weren't answering our phones - we could've been dead!”

“One of you were answering your phone,” She smiles knowingly, and applies lip gloss in the mirror.

“Stop being so vague!” Lydia sighs, exasperated. 

“I wasn’t worried about you, Lydia, because Stiles text Scott last night. We were worried, and he finally replied. He told Scott that you guys were just hanging out, and you fell asleep. He didn’t want to wake you. He told Scott not to worry.” Allison watches her expression, grinning. 

“What?” Lydia asks, licking her lips with a puzzled look on her face. He seemed just as confused this morning. Was that an act?

“Yep,” Allison pushes the mirror up, and then reaches in her backseat. “And don’t worry. I brought some stuff for you.”

“What do you mean?” Lydia asks, trying to catch a glance as Allison pulls a bag up to her lap. 

“Shirt, jeans, dry shampoo, deodorant, and perfume since you...kinda smell like outside. Oh, and gum. Couldn’t exactly bring a toothbrush and toothpaste.” Allison laughs, shrugging. 

“Oh, thank God!” Lydia moans, grabbing the bag. “You are literally my favorite person on the planet.”

“I better be,” Allison laughs, and Lydia starts crawling between the front seats to get to the back. 

“Cover for me,” She groans, pulling herself into the backseat, and using pushing her feet off of the dash. 

“God,” Allison pushes her foot off of her face, laughing. “You could’ve just used the door.”

“Yeah, I realized that immediately after I started,” Lydia sighs, finally making it. She sorts through the bag, and then pulls her clothes off. Allison is keeping watch while she changes her clothes, puts on deodorant and perfume, and then finally fixes her hair. 

“What time is it?” She asks, making sure she looks decent in the mirror. 

“Uhhh,” Allison looks at her phone, and then turns to her. “Ten minutes till.”

“Shit,” Lydia groans, stupidly crawling back to the front seat. “Allison...I don’t know what I’m going to do about Jackson. I know I have like, a decently calm exterior right now, but it’s full-on panic inside.”

“You really want to know what I think?” Allison asks, looking at her.

“No, I asked for no reason,” Lydia replies sarcastically, and then pushes her lips together when she sees Allison's reaction. “Sorry. But yes.”

“Break it off with him.” She answers, leaning her head back against the seat. “You don't like him like you like Stiles. You never will.”

“Okay, that's not at all what I wanted to hear.” Lydia breathes in deeply, and runs her fingers through her hair. “I'm so torn.”

“Torn about what, Lydia?  _ You don't like him. _ It's that simple.”

“No, it's not. It's not simple, because I  _ do  _ like Jackson. And no, I don't feel as much for him as I do Stiles, but God, Allison, I've liked Stiles for so much longer. And what's going to happen after I break up with him, huh? I'll  _ never  _ feel for anyone what I feel for Stiles. So...what? I'll just end up settling for second best one day.” She laughs miserably, and bites her lip.

“You're cheating on him, Lydia! So if you really do like him, then you shouldn't date him until you've sorted out your feelings. It's not right, and you know it.” Allison replies, and Lydia doesn't know what to do. She thought Allison would always be on her side, no matter what.

“You're the one pushing me to hang out with him! You always say it's no big deal, and you've been encouraging it!” Lydia retorts, completely exasperated by this conversation. It's not even eight am and this day is already terrible.

“Yeah, well I didn't understand how serious it was, okay? I just...I had to take a step back and look at it. If Jackson was doing this to you, I'd kill him. And I know you only have good intentions, I do, but this...it's not okay.” Allison replies calmly, and Lydia is so confused on what to do that she wants to rip her own hair out. “It doesn't matter how hard you try to stay away from Stiles, something always pulls you back. It's not your fault.”

“What does Scott think? He hates me, I'm sure. I am basically ruining everything.” Lydia laughs, and then gulps.

“No, Lydia, he doesn't think bad about you at all. He just thinks you guys are finally getting along. I haven't told him about your feelings for Stiles. I don't want him to accidentally slip it to him or anything.” Allison reaches over to hold her hand. 

“I really just don't want to waste my high school years pining after...pining after Stiles. I want to date people, you know? Christ, he ruins everything.”

“You'll figure something out.” Allison replies encouragingly, squeezing her hand. “I'm always here. And if you do stay with Jackson, I understand. You like him. But if you do...just stay away from Stiles, okay?”

“I will. No more Stiles Stilinski.” Lydia smiles at Allison, and Allison laughs. 

“Good. Now let's go. Class is probably about to start.” Allison smiles at her, and they hurriedly go inside. Lydia prays she doesn’t see Jackson on the way in. She doesn’t. 

Stiles is in his seat as she walks by him to get to her own spot. He looks up at her with concern, probably because of her sudden departure earlier. She can tell he’s taken a shower by the dampness of his hair, and how is shirt is sticking to his skin. God, what she would give for a shower right now. 

She swallows thickly and looks away, before falling back into her chair. She doodles on her page, trying to get her mind off of things. What does he think about all of this?

Lydia has horrible anxiety all throughout her classes, because she knows she’ll see Jackson at lunch. She never answered his texts, and she’ll have to lie to him about why not. She decides that next time he can’t go to the movie night, she won’t go either. It’s probably best that way.

“I was worried I wouldn’t even see you here,” Jackson laughs as he sits down next to her at the lunch table. He uses his fingers to turn her chin towards him, and then he kisses her. When they pull away, she see Stiles sit down at the table. Oh, God. “What happened? You didn’t answer any of my texts, and I came to school early to see you, but you weren’t here. You okay?”

“Oh yeah,” She laughs, waving him off. “I’m good. My phone died last night while we were watching the movie. I, um...I slept through my alarm this morning - I was a little late. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” He laughs, pressing his lips to her temple, making her smile. “I was just worried, is all.”

She doesn’t even want to look at Stiles. He obviously knows she just lied straight to Jackson’s face, and so does Allison and Scott. This is majorly embarrassing. 

“Hey Lydia,” Stiles speaks up, and immediate panic hits Lydia. What could he possibly have to say right now? She closes her eyes and breathes in, before looking over at him. This isn’t going to be good. 

“Hmm?” She asks, narrowing her eyes. He leans over the table slightly, and props his elbows on it. 

“I’m just trying to think…” He sighs, and Allison is awkwardly eating her food because she can sense the horrible tension between Stiles and Lydia. What the hell is he doing? “That last night when we were watching the movie - well obviously we were watching the movie since it’s the  _ movie _ night - I specifically remember that you were using your phone.”

She has to hurry up and come up with something. Why does he want to sabotage her? If Jackson finds out the truth, wouldn’t Ashley find out too? This makes no sense. 

“Yeah, I was. But I used it so much that it died, remember? I guess that was before you text me.” She turns to Jackson and shrugs, giving her sweetest smile. 

“But I don’t exactly-” Stiles starts again, but Lydia cuts him off.

“Do you want to go make out until next period starts?” She asks Jackson, biting her lip. He looks a little surprised, but he doesn’t protest. 

“Do I even have to answer?” He laughs, getting up from his seat. 

“See you guys later!” Lydia waves to them, grabbing Jackson’s hand. 

Now she’s pissed off. What the hell does Stiles think he’s doing. Does he just  _ want  _ her to get caught? How can this jerk be the same person she stargazed with last night? So she and Jackson make out in an empty office, and she takes her mind off of Stiles. Stupid Stiles. 

After last class, she realizes that she can’t afford to go to lacrosse practice and have Stiles dropping hints here and there. Eventually Jackson will think something’s up, if he doesn’t already. She also can’t take the horrible anticipation of seeing if Stiles  _ will  _ push it farther or not. 

“Supply closet,” She demands, gritting her teeth as she stops Stiles in the hallway. He smiles down at her, crossing his arms. “Now.”

“Aw, Lydia, you want to make out with me in the supply closet? Hot, but what would Jackson think?” He asks, sighing. 

“God, just shut up, you idiot.” She rolls her eyes, turning around and walking to the supply closet. He follows. 

“What exactly do you think you were doing at lunch? Trying to get me caught? Last time I checked, you have a girlfriend! You would have done the same thing if Ashley had been there.” She breathes in angrily, and it makes her even more mad that he’s standing here without a care in the world. 

“But she wasn’t, and I wouldn’t. She’s not worried about me cheating on her. Can you say the same about Jackson?” He asks, and she gasps.

“Shut up! God, it doesn’t even matter about trust! I would be a little uncomfortable with Jackson sleeping with another girl. Sex or not, we were…” She looks down, embarrassed. “We were cuddling. Or whatever. I’m pretty sure Ashley would be pissed. I could go find her and see if you wanted.”

“It was just really hilarious to me how you lied to Jackson. Isn’t honesty the key to a healthy relationship?” He mocks care, and then laughs. “Really, Lydia, if you don’t want to worry about someone exposing the truth, then next time don’t sleep with me on the lacrosse field.”

She stands there stunned.

“How can you say that? You understand; you were there. I know you don’t want Ashley to find out, so why are you trying to ruin my relationship?” She asks softly, not even able to yell anymore. “I just...I don’t want mine destroyed just because of some stupid meaningless accident. That’s why I lied. If I could go back to last night, I wouldn’t have done any of it.”

“Yeah, me neither.” He retorts, rolling his eyes. “Whatever. I have to go to practice.”

“What hell is wrong with you, Stiles? I know you don’t like Jackson, but don’t you at least want me to be happy? I’m happy with him.” She says, gulping. 

“Yeah?” He asks, turning around to look at her. He hesitates a moment, and then lowers his voice. “Then why did you kiss me back?”

Her mouth clamps shut at that, and she can hear the pounding of her heart in her ears. He stares her in the eye for a beat too long, before he turns and leaves. No more words were exchanged. He said what he needed to say. 


	35. Broken Counters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

Stiles and Lydia have been ignoring each other. Again. They literally cannot go more than about three days without getting in an argument, and end up not talking to each other.

On a good note, Stiles stopped dropping hints to Jackson after the fight. At least she got _something_ through to him.

It's been a week and two days since the...disagreement. They had a movie night the next week, but Stiles and Lydia didn't look at each other the entire time. She's pretty sure Jackson knows something's up, but he hasn't said anything yet. Maybe with time he'll forget about it.

When she starts to think about Stiles, she looks at the bracelet. It reminds her that she's with someone who actually _likes_ her, and she doesn't want to take that for granted anymore.

"What is this?" Lydia smiles, taking her blindfold off. She covers her hand over her mouth, grinning.

Lydia and Jackson are on a date, and he made her put a blindfold on when she got in his car. Now, taking it off, she sees a blanket and a picnic basket sitting on the ground. They're on the mountain that overlooks Beacon Hills.

"It's for you." He presses his hand to the small of her back, and she turns and hugs him tightly. "On Sunday it'll be the one month anniversary of our first date. I wanted to do something nice for you."

"That's so sweet," She laughs, reaching her arms around his neck and kissing him. "Thank you so much, Jackson."

"It's nothing," he smiles, and kisses her forehead. "Now let's eat."

"Good idea," she laughs, and they sit on the blanket.

Now when she's sitting here, she notices every little detail. He has rose petals sprinkled across the blanket, he has silk pillows lying next to them, and the first food he pulls out are chocolate-covered strawberries. One of the biggest aphrodisiacs.

"How, um...how did you get this all set up?" She asks, only just now realizing that he's expecting more than just a cute picnic tonight.

"Ah, you caught me," he lowers his head, still smiling. "I paid some kid in my class $50 to do it. So he came while I was at lacrosse practice so you wouldn't think something's up."

"Ohhh," she laughs, nodding her head and gulping. "That's nice."

"Yeah," He shrugs and smiles, proud. She quickly decides that she doesn't like this side of him.

They eat their food. The chocolate-covered strawberries of course, and red wine. That's all he had in that huge basket, and Lydia's starving.

"Lydia," Jackson turns to her as she's staring off the ledge at Beacon Hills, wanting this night to be over. Something doesn't feel right.

She turns to him, and he's holding out a strawberry. He's trying to feed her.

"Thanks," She grabs it and pops it in her mouth, pretending like she didn't notice what he was trying to do. She leaves her wine glass almost entirely untouched. She doesn't want her mind to be clouded at any rate right now.

"Why, uh...why do you like me, Jackson?" She turns to him, narrowing her eyes in confusion. If he gives a reason, she'll know if this is real or not. "You could have any person in that school. I don't get why you chose me."

"You're not like other girls are, Lydia. You're different." He runs his finger over her cheek, and even though she's annoyed, she still feels his manipulative side persuading her.

"What's wrong with other girls?" She asks, tilting her head in an accusatory way. He looks taken aback at that, but it's only a few seconds later when his signature smile comes back.

"You know, Lydia. They just...aren't you." He shrugs, pulling her closer to him.

"No," She presses her hand to his chest. "I'm a girl. I'm not special or different; I don't want to be. You say that to every girl to make them feel different, don't you? Make them feel special, and play on their internalized misogyny. That's disgusting."

"Lydia, where is this coming from?" He furrows his eyebrows, and she doesn't know where it's coming from, either. She had tried to put it away, but every time she looks at Jackson, she hears the echo of Stiles' words from under the bleachers. _'He pointed out what I said in the locker room, but he forgot to mention what he said. He said he would sleep with you by the end of the month.'_ She had tried to force herself not to think about it, but it's always been there, nagging at her. Now she sees it.

"I want to go home. Please take me home." She stands up, accidentally knocking her drink over.

"Lydia," He grabs her wrist, but she wrenches it away, starting to panic. "I'm not here just to sleep with you. I really like you."

"Don't lie to me, okay? Don't do me any favors. I just want to go home." She pleads, gulping. God, if they weren't so far off in the middle of nowhere she could just call Allison. But that seems a little out of the question right now, sadly.

"Please, Lydia," He begs, lacing his fingers with hers. She sighs and looks away, swallowing thickly. "Just hear me out. I'll take you straight home afterwards if you still want me to."

"Fine." She replies, biting the inside of her cheek. Her heart is racing with more and more nervousness each beat.

"I like you, Lydia. I really do. I don't know where you're getting all of this stuff from. This whole thing...It's great. I thought it was for you too. I don't...I don't know what I did wrong. I would go our whole lives and not have sex with you if that's what you wanted. It's not about that for me." He promises, rubbing his thumb over the edge of her bracelet. "I did lie to you, though. I didn't buy that bracelet for you. It...it was my birth mom's. It's one of the only things I have from my real parents. I didn't want to scare you by telling you that so soon, so I didn't. But you mean that much to me, Lydia. You do."

"Oh my God," She looks down at it, and then up to them. "Please tell me you didn't do that for me."

"I did. And I would again," He looks in her eyes, and she sees that his are full of sincerity. Would Stiles really lie to her about that? This is all so confusing.

"I'm so sorry that I was accusing you...It's just...Stiles told me-"

"- _Stiles?_ " Jackson asks, scoffing. "What did he tell you exactly?"

"He told me that in the locker room, you said...you said you will have slept with me by the end of the month." She bites her lip, and looks out across the city.

"Of course he would say that," Jackson laughs bitterly, and shapes his hands into fists.

"What do you mean?" She asks, turning to look at him with curiosity.

"He's been out to get me since he figured out that Ashley has a thing for me. As if it's my fault. God, and I don't even like her. The thought of someone not being completely in love with him just drives him crazy." He huffs angrily, and she grabs his hand. He breathes in, his anger dying down slowly. "I'm...sorry. I know you're friends with him, I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's...it's fine. I've kind of been figuring out he's a jerk the past few weeks." She laughs sadly, and then wraps her arms around Jackson's waist. "I'm so sorry. I can't apologize enough for my behavior tonight. I just didn't know what to think, you know?"

It all makes sense now. The menacing look Ashley had given her when she said Jackson asked her out, the little comments here and there about it. She understands why Stiles is mad, too. No one likes being a second choice.

"I understand. It's no big deal, really." He presses his forehead to hers, smiling. "I'm glad we're okay."

"I am too." She replies, leaning in and kissing him. After a few seconds, she pulls away and looks at him. "Jackson?"

"Yeah?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows with concern.

"How do you know Ashley likes you?" She asks, looking down at their intertwined hands.

"It was, uh…" He looks up, thinking. "Right before school ended. Yeah, almost June. Her and Stiles were on one of their infamous 'breaks'. She came and told me that she really liked me, and I brushed it off because I thought she was just going to try and make Stiles jealous because he broke up with her. But that wasn't it. She said _I_ was the reason they broke up. Because Stiles found out about her crush on me, and broke it off with her. But I told her I didn't like her that way. I guess they figured it all out, though, since they seem like they're doing pretty well now." He shrugs, and then lays back on one of the pillows.

"Okay," She replies, laying down beside him. "Just wondering. That makes sense now, though. I don't think she likes me. I wondered why for a while, but now I get it."

"I'm glad things are better now," He puts his arm around her, and she snuggles against him.

"I am too." She sighs contently, and they watch the sunset.

The next day, Lydia is rudely awakened by Allison, who throws her blanket off of her.

"Jesus Christ, Allison, it's Saturday!" Lydia groans, pulling her pillow off of her head. She already told her about the date last night, so what could possibly be happening right now that would make her wake her up like this?

"Stiles is here, Lydia," Allison whispers, and Lydia gets up so fast, that she turns and falls face-first on the floor.

"Why is he here?" She asks, hiding behind the bed, fully awake already. "Shit."

"Okay, I lied. He's not here. But there is something I have to tell you. It's about him." Allison bites her lip, and Lydia groans and flops back on the bed.

"God, Allison, you almost gave me a heart attack," She whines, and pulls the blanket back over her head. "Just get in bed and sleep."

"No. I really need to tell you something. Scott said not to tell anyone, but you're my best friend. It kind of concerns you too, so I feel obligated." Allison says, and that sparks Lydia's interest. Something she shouldn't know? Now she _has_ to know.

"What is it?" She asks, sitting up and staring at Allison. She's nosy about everything, so this is right up her alley.

"I feel bad because I told Scott I wouldn't tell…" Allison breathes in, obviously nervous.

"I'll tell him I pried it out of you! Now tell me!" Lydia begs, groaning. "Pleaseeee."

"Fine," Allison decides, clearing her throat. "Fine. Scott and I ate breakfast this morning. We were just talking about how you and Stiles slept together that night. Not _slept_ , you know, but slept. Anyway, he told me that Stiles...said something."

"And then…? You can't stop there, Allison, you know how I get when I'm curious." Lydia whines, waiting with anticipation.

"Stiles told Scott that he doesn't know why you're even with Jackson, because you don't even like him." Allison says quickly, and it takes Lydia a moment to process it all.

"Wait a second, back up," Lydia licks her lips, and narrows her eyes. "Stiles told Scott that I don't like Jackson?"

"Yeah," Allison sighs, biting her lip. "I mean...why would he say that?"

"I don't know," Lydia grits her teeth and ties her hair up, stepping out of bed. "But I'm about to go find the hell out."

"But then Stiles will know that Scott told me and then Scott will know that I told you!" Allison sighs, falling back against the bed. "But," She continues, smiling slightly. "Scott asked me not to tell, but he knew I would tell you, right? And if so, he must know you would go talk to Stiles then. He cares about you too, Lydia. He's tired of Stiles acting this way just like we are. So he told me not to tell you, but that's just something you say, isn't it?"

"No offense, but I don't really care if it is or not. God, I'm so pissed off right now. We haven't spoken to each other in a week, but he still has something to say! Well, so do I." She huffs, balling her fists up at her sides. "I'll be back. Thanks for telling me."

"Good luck!" Allison yells after her, and Lydia has to practice breathing in and out, because she's so angry she could just _punch_ him right now.

When she gets to Stiles' house, she slams the door of her car. If he didn't hear that, then she beats loudly on his door, fuming.

"Miss me, huh?" He laughs, even though he can see her anger. That makes her even _more_ mad.

"Yeah. Go with that." She pushes past him, gritting her teeth.

"Oooh, rough. I like it." He follows behind her to the kitchen, and she is seething.

"Stiles, if you don't shut the hell up right now, I'll-"

"-You'll what?" He asks, looking her in the eyes. She swallows thickly, and stands up taller.

"Do you even care why I'm here? You haven't even asked." She crosses her arms, breathing in. It's taking everything in her not to just slap him right now.

"I know you're mad. I must have done something wrong, I guess." He replies nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. "Nothing out of the ordinary. I know you can't stay away from me long though, anyway."

She ignores that, trying to pretend like she's not majorly turned on right now. Why is he so hot when he's mean?

"Shut up!" She huffs, furrowing her eyebrows. "How could you tell Scott that I don't like Jackson? I do _!_ I _really_ do, actually! He's nice, funny, hot, and he...God, he cares about me! Why would I not like him?"

"I don't know, Lydia, why don't _you_ answer that question for me?" He asks, his still voice even.

"Let me rephrase that. Why the _hell_ would you tell Scott that if you don't even know?! I like Jackson! Get that through your thick skull, and stop talking about me behind my back! It's really, _really_ starting to piss me off! I haven't talked to you in a week, but you _still-"_

She all of the sudden gets cut off, because he grabs her face, and presses his lips against hers. She freezes all of the sudden, and the anger in her chest starts to dissipate. Confusion is the first emotion she feels. She doesn't even know what's going on.

"Stiles-" She pulls back, desperately trying to catch her breath. It feels like an elephant is sitting on her chest. She gulps, and then licks her lips. He looks at her, and his pupils are so big, that they're almost taking over his entire iris.

"Just shut up for _once,_ Lydia," To Lydia's surprise he gasps for air too, and then grabs her face in his hands, kissing her again. She embraces it wholeheartedly this time, and doesn't fight it.

Her knees are weak as he presses her back against the fridge. One of his hands are propped against it, and the other one is tangled messily in her hair. They're both desperately trying to catch their breath between the small gap of time between each searing kiss. Lydia's skin is burning with heat, as she reaches up and throws her arms around his neck.

This is nothing like the hospital kiss. The hospital kiss was careful, slow, soft. The kiss right now is almost completely opposite. This one is passionate, lustful, and hot, in every sense of the words. All of the built up tension is finally being let out, and Lydia can barely even control herself.

" _Christ_ ," She hears him moan under his breath, against her lips, as he grabs her waist and moves her against the cool granite counter top. Her back is now pressing into a cabinet, but she barely even notices, because she can taste him, and feel him, and he's moaning against her lips like he wants her right this second.

They're both breathing extremely heavily still, and it's getting worse by the second. It feels like she's having a panic attack. But...a _good_ panic attack.

One of her hands is pulling at his hair, and the other one is scratching into his back. He's groaning and sighing, and his fingers are pressing into her hip. He has his other hand gripping at the edge of the counter forcefully, like he's trying _so hard_ to contain himself. He grabs so hard, in fact, that he breaks a piece off. He doesn't even pull away to assess the damage; he just throws the piece across the kitchen, and moves that hand back to hold her face. His lips are swollen and wet, and there is one second where she considers pulling away. But it's only a consideration.

The next thing she knows, Stiles is pressing his warm lips against her neck, and the spot just below her ear. Feeling his hot breath against her skin forces a moan out of her mouth, and she throws her head back involuntarily. She feels his lips curve into a smile against her skin, and she's full-on gasping for air now.

He makes his way back up her neck with his lips, and then he kisses her mouth again. She wraps her legs around his waist, pulling him as close as she possibly can.

When they hear a noise in the other room, it takes a few dazed seconds for Lydia to even realize what's happening.

"Stiles?" Lydia hears someone yell across the house, and Stiles immediately pulls away. "Are you home?

"Oh _shit_ ," Stiles pants - literally pants - which is completely hot by the way, and Lydia is watching him move across the kitchen. She puts both of her hands on the counter behind her, and her chest is moving up and down quickly. Her throat is dry from her constant intakes of breath, and she still - after all of this time - has no idea what just happened. Her mind is hazy, and she can't form a complete thought to save her life. She knows something is wrong, but the harder she tries to think, the more she remembers what just happened, making the previous thought get lost immediately.

"Pops! Didn't know you were coming home. I would've made dinner." Stiles laughs, walking beside his dad. She has no idea how he's acting so composed. He probably has lots of practice, she realizes.

"That's fine, Stiles, I already picked something up." His dad sighs, still not noticing her presence. He grabs a beer from the bridge, breaks the cap of with his finger, and then...freezes. "Who the hell is this?"

"Lydia Martin," Stiles replies, swallowing thickly. "We run together sometimes. She's going to try out for the team."

"Oh, Natalie's daughter! Great to meet you, Lydia. That team sure could use a lady, you know. Too many boys together is trouble." His dad smiles at her, and Stiles suddenly throws her a bottle of water, which, of course, she misses.

"I still have some practice to go," She laughs, and as horrible as it is, her voice breaks. She clears her throat, trying not to blush. "But it's great to meet you too, Mr. Stilinski."

"Don't work her too hard, Stiles," His dad laughs, patting him on the back. "I have some work to do in my office. I'll see you later, Miss Lydia."

"Bye!" She waves him off, laughing awkwardly. She looks up at Stiles, and he's already staring. Neither say anything. What really is there _to_ say?

"I'm leaving." She says quietly grabbing her keys off of the counter. As she does, she sees the chunk missing out of it. She shakes her thoughts away, and starts walking. She can't even look at him.

"Lydia?" He says behind her, right as she's reaching for the door. She stops and closes her eyes, breathing in as she turns around. He looks at her with a small smile on his lips. "I bet Jackson's never made you feel like that."

She stands there in shock, just looking at him. So is that all that was? To prove a point that he's better than Jackson? And she kissed back, too. Even after Jackson gave her his birth mother's bracelet, she still kissed Stiles back. And she _wants_ to hate Stiles, she really does, but he's right. Jackson has never made her feel even _close_ to what she just felt for the past two minutes.

She looks up at Stiles, and then turns around and leaves without a word. Not even a goodbye. Nothing.

She just got two full minutes of bliss, where everything felt good, right, and absolutely perfect. But two minutes is all it was. She thought the tension between them was unbearable before, but it's nothing like what she knows is about to come. Love really, _really_ sucks.


	36. Danny

She's angry. Worse than that, she's upset. Stiles is playing with her emotions and feelings. She should have known the kiss meant nothing to him. Does _anything_ matter to him? How is he so different from the Stiles on the lacrosse field that night? She wishes that he would always be like that, but it's not realistic. She doesn't like the way he's been lately. She can't even tell which is the real him.

"Lydia," Jackson presses his hand against the doorway, smiling at her. He's shirtless and wearing grey joggers, and she can tell he just got out of the shower because his hair is wet, and his chest is shining with drops of water. "What are you doing here?"

After leaving Stiles' house, she went immediately to Jackson's. She's mad and heartbroken and she can still taste Stiles on her tongue.

She hesitates a second, breathing in and out rapidly. She steps forward, into his house, and presses him against the wall. He smiles in surprise, his breath catching like hers, as she leans in and kisses him. She wants to _feel_ something, and she wants to prove to herself that Jackson _can_ make her feel that way if she gives him the chance. Stiles shouldn't be able to mess with her like this.

She presses her hands against his chest, feeling the curves of his hard muscles beneath them. His skin is soft and warm, and his lips are hard and demanding. Without any more questions, he grabs her waist and pins her against the wall instead.

They're in his foyer, which is huge, and she's desperate and lonely and she just wants someone to be with now. Stiles left her this way on purpose.

Jackson's tongue finds it's way into her mouth, washing away the taste of Stiles. His strong hands are gripping her waist tightly, and it's only about ten seconds later when she starts to untie his sweatpants.

"Lydia," He breathes out, looking in her eyes and grabbing her hands to stop her.

"Just let me," She argues, kissing him again and letting her hands skim slowly down his stomach. And he lets her for a moment too, before he regains his sense and stops her again.

"I want to. God, I want to, but my parents are upstairs." He whispers, licking his lips. She swallows thickly, and he holds her face in his hand. "Do you want to go to your place?"

"No, we can't, my mom's home," She whispers back, feeling lightheaded.

"Anywhere, then. Let's just go." He grabs her hand, and starts leading her back out the door. She walks for a second with him, but then stops. He looks back at her, tugging her hand, but she doesn't budge. She can't believe it took this long for her to realize how stupid she's being.

"I have to go, Jackson." She looks up at him, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I have no idea what's gotten into me."

"I liked it, whatever it was," He pulls her close, kissing her against the brick wall outside of his front door. "Come on, Lydia, we can go."

"No," She pushes away, shaking her head again. "I'm sorry. I really need to leave."

"God, you were the one who came to me. You practically attacked me." He huffs with annoyance, rolling his eyes.

"I shouldn't have. I'm sorry, Jackson, I just want to leave. It's not you, it's just…I'm not in a good way now. I'll see you Monday." She replies, watching him. He just shakes his head and lets her wrist go, slamming the door as he walks back in. No goodbye.

She doesn't even know what to do now. Stiles is a complete dick in every way, and Jackson is angry with her.

"I might as well move away and change my identity," She explains to Allison ten minutes later in the diner. "This sucks."

"I can't believe Stiles just...grabbed you and kissed you like that." Allison shakes her head, sipping her chocolate milkshake.

"I know. And God, I could just _tell_ Jackson that too, if only I hadn't kissed back. I'm such an idiot. I really thought for like, one second, that he kissed me because he wanted to. Not just because he's been competing with Jackson in a 'who's the manliest?' competition since May." Lydia sighs, putting her face in her hands. "I really have done some stupid shit the past few weeks. I also have absolutely no idea how to get myself out of it."

"And I have no idea how to help you. Stiles is being such an ass, you know? That's not fair of him to do that to you. Especially since you're trying so hard to make it work with Jackson." Allison sighs, and Lydia nods.

"I know." Lydia groans, and pushes her hair behind her ear. "It seems like we've only been talking about me lately which is...kind of embarrassing and horrible on my part. So how are you and Scott doing?" She winks, clucking her tongue knowingly. "Anything sexy going on between you two?"

"Actually…" Allison looks down at the table and smiles, showing her dimples. She swirls her finger around the rim of her glass, and then looks up at Lydia. "We had sex."

"Oh shit!" Lydia laughs loudly, accidentally knocking the napkin holder over. Some of the customers behind them gave them weird looks, but Lydia waved them off with an awkward laugh. "Sorry about that. I just got good news, so I, uh, kind of reacted quickly. So where are you guys from?"

"Sorry, my friend's a little...just sorry. You can resume what you were doing, we'll be more quiet." Allison smiles sweetly at them, and Lydia breathes out a sigh of relief.

"What was it like? Did it hurt?" Lydia leans in closer to Allison, whispering.

"It was...amazing. And no, it didn't hurt. I had read an article saying it would, so I prepared myself for the worst. I was terrified, but he was really gentle with me. It didn't hurt at all. At all. And I'm the one who initiated, so I was really comfortable." She smiles, blushing slightly at the thought.

"Have you guys done it more than once? God, I can't believe I didn't know about this." Lydia laughs, pulling her legs up on the seat to get more comfortable.

"We haven't yet, but I think we're going to tonight. We have a date." She shrugs, grinning widely.

"That's great, Allison, seriously. Wow, can you believe this? You're in a great relationship, having _sex_ , and I'm dating Jackson Whittemore. I've also kissed Stiles more than once. And I know I'm not in the best situation right now, but I can't believe I have boy trouble to even _worry_ about." She laughs, shaking her head.

"I know. We're finally getting the lives we've always talked about. Maybe it took until Junior year, but at least it's happening. I'm really happy, Lydia." She smiles, which makes Lydia smile.

"I'm glad."

Lydia has no idea what to expect when she walks into school Monday. Jackson didn't try and contact her at all the remainder of the weekend, so she has no clue if he's mad, upset, or if nothing's wrong; he just forgot to text her.

And…then there's Stiles. She hasn't seen him since Saturday right after they made out. That smug smile he gave her when she was leaving is burned into her skull, driving her insane.

"Hey, Lydia," Scott smiles at her, holding Allison's hand. "How was your weekend?"

"Um...it was okay. Very, uh, eventful." She laughs, and then clears her throat. "Has...Jackson talked to you at all this weekend? It was our one month anniversary yesterday and he didn't even text me or anything."

"I'm not really...I don't talk to Jackson outside of school much. He's really good friends with Danny, though; they tell each other everything. If something's wrong, I'm sure he'll know it." Scott offers, and she breathes in.

"Thanks. I'll go find him later." Lydia thanks him, and then decides to just go ahead and go to class early. She doesn't really want to see Stiles _or_ Jackson, so she's going to avoid them as much as possible until she inevitably has to face it. She's just glad it's not right now.

When Stiles walks into class ten minutes later, he gives her a small nod before he sits in his seat. God, what the hell is she supposed to do? He kisses her like _that_ , doesn't speak to her all weekend, and then _nods_ at her the next time he sees her? Does he think this is some kind of stupid game?

She suffers through the entire class, going over every single scenario possible in her mind. Does he like her? Unrealistic. Does he know she likes him, and keeps messing with her on purpose? Or did he only do it because he's still angry at Jackson for the whole "Ashley liking him" thing, and wanted to get back at him by proving he can make out with his girlfriend whenever he wants?

Lydia anxiously sits outside of the cafeteria, waiting for Danny. She has to talk to him.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing?" Danny asks, as she pulls him to the side of the hallway.

"Lookin' nice today, Danny!" She laughs, brushing his shoulders off with her hands. She notices the lack of amusement in his expression, so she clears her throat and gets on with it. "Anyway, I want to ask you something about Jackson."

"Go ahead," He pulls on the strap of his backpack, sighing.

"I, uh...okay, he's been acting strange. We were kissing the other day and then I just left, which I know is probably annoying, but-"

"I don't need to hear any more," Danny stops her, sighing again. She thinks he's done with the conversation, but he speaks again. "Jackson is a dick. I don't even know why I'm friends with him sometimes, really. The best advice I can give you is to break up with him. I don't want to ruin this for you, Lydia, because I know it feels real. But it's not. Jackson isn't going to be in a real relationship for a really long time. He's a womanizer. So yeah, he's my friend, but I actually like you for some reason. Break up with him."

She stands there in shock. She wasn't expecting all of that. Especially not all at once.

"But he...he gave me his mom's bracelet. His real mom's bracelet." She gulps, shaking her head with denial.

"Lydia. I'm doing you a favor right now. A big one. Jackson's my best friend, but he's not someone you want to date. Especially since it's not dating to him. It's a challenge; that's it." He explains, looking like he hates to break the bad news. "And hey, I could be wrong. Maybe he really is falling for you. But if I were you, I wouldn't want to wait around and find out."

"I don't really...know how to react to this." She laughs, trying to hide the pain with comedy.

"I'm sorry to spring all of this on you, Lydia. I really am. But he's started not telling me things, and I know by that point, he's doing things he knows I would approve of. So yeah. Something's definitely up." He gives her a sympathetic look, and she's trying to catch her breath.

"I _knew_ something had to be going on. And Stiles...he warned me, but I didn't believe him. I didn't _want_ to believe him." She gulps, running her fingers through her hair. "What do I do?"

"Break up with him as soon as you can. Like, today if it's possible. I'm really sorry, Lydia."

"No, don't be. I'm glad you told me. I really appreciate it." She breathes in, forcing a smile. "Thank you."

He smiles at her sadly, pats her back, and then leaves. She stands there in the empty hallway, trying to figure out what to do.

She goes into the cafeteria, trying to act as normal as possible. She doesn't spot Jackson, so she immediately goes to Allison.

"Have any of you seen Jackson? Is he even here today?" Lydia asks, gulping as she looks at Scott and Stiles.

"I've seen him. He's here, but I don't know where right now." Stiles answers her, but she turns to Allison.

"Can I talk to you a sec?" She asks her, and Allison immediately can tell something's wrong.

Lydia can feel Stiles' eyes boring into her, but she doesn't look at him. She hopes he can't tell that anything is wrong, although she's pretty sure he's already figured it out by now.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." Allison stands up, and follows her back into the hall.

"I just talked to Danny like Scott suggested earlier." Lydia breathes in, feeling panic start to take over. "He said he's using me. He doesn't like me; it's all a sham. He said to break up with him."

"Oh my God, Lydia," Allison gasps, hugging her. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? God, he really must be bad if even his best friend is warning you."

"I know. God, I can't believe I fell for his stupid tricks." Lydia sighs, biting the inside of her cheek.

"He's mastered them is why. It's not your fault, Lydia. He uses his charm." Allison tells her trying to process it all just like Lydia. "When are you going to break it off?"

"Now. Like I want to find him right now." Lydia gulps, wiping her sweaty palms off on her pants.

"Okay. I'll come with you. It'll be fine." Allison breathes in with her, and squeezes her arm for comfort.

"Where would Jackson be if he's not in the cafeteria?" Lydia tries to think, and then it comes to her.

"The gym." They both say in unison, and then walk together. Lydia breathes in before she opens the door. They look around, but there's only a girl in there, using a treadmill with her headphones in.

"Shit," Lydia sighs, slumping her shoulders.

"We could try the locker room." Allison suggests, looking hopeful.

"Yeah, good idea." Lydia agrees, and they make their way to the boys' locker room.

Lydia opens her mouth to say "he's not in here," but Allison widens her eyes and shushes her. It takes Lydia a second to hear what Allison is hearing. She lets go of Allison's hand, and charges forward. When she turns the corner of lockers, she sees Jackson.

He's shirtless, and has a girl pinned against the lockers. Her shirt is unbuttoned and showing her entire chest, and he has his hand down her shorts while he's kissing her neck. She's moaning incessantly, and Lydia feels tears stinging her eyes. She's so caught up in seeing Jackson cheating on her, that it takes her a moment to process who he's cheating on her _with_.

The girl that's up against the lockers, half naked and moaning, is Ashley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all soooo much for reviews! It feels so amazing to know that you took time out of your day to write it! Thank you :) Also, I'm sorry to leave it on this cliffhanger! Just hold out for Tuesday :)


	37. Bracelet

"Lydia, are you o-" Stiles puts his hand on her shoulder, before he stops in his tracks, seeing what she's seeing. His mouth drops open, and his hand falls off of her shoulder. At the sound of his voice, Jackson pulls away from Ashley.

"What...the hell is this?" Stiles asks, swallowing thickly. Ashley wipes her mouth with her arm, and then starts buttoning up her shirt in a rush.

"Stiles-" She steps forward and tries to console him, but her lips are still swollen red and her breath is still heavy. This isn't going to go anywhere.

"No," He laughs bitterly, and Lydia can't even speak. "Christ, I knew this was happening. I knew it."

"I'm sorry," Ashley bites her lip, tears filling in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Stiles."

"Jesus Christ, stop apologizing to him," Jackson scoffs, crossing his arms. Lydia gulps. "You think these two haven't been hooking up behind our backs? Please."

The worst part is that he's right. They both cheated. Stiles cheated on Ashley, Ashley cheated on Stiles, Lydia cheated on Jackson, and Jackson cheated on Lydia. How can she even be angry when she's done the same thing?

"Stiles wouldn't," She shakes her head, smiling weakly as she puts her hand on his cheek. He looks down, not even trying to deny it. "Right?"

He just looks up at her, and then her smile fades. He doesn't even have to say words, but she knows. She takes her hand off of his cheek, and then steps back.

"Lydia, don't act so shocked. Your pure and celibate act was easy to see through. I knew you were sleeping with Stiles the whole time, okay?" He keeps his attitude cool and collected, and she has tears in her eyes.

"We weren't sleeping together. We kissed twice, and I initiated it both times. And I only kissed her because I knew you two were hooking up. I only kissed her because I knew Ashley didn't want me. So shut the hell up and quit pretending you know everything." Stiles grinds his teeth, and they look like they're about to lunge at each other. Allison is holding Lydia's hand, staying back but still comforting her.

Lydia has no idea what to do.

"Cheating is cheating," Jackson shrugs, staying composed. Lydia doesn't know how he does it.

"Yeah, it is, but I'm sure you're only saying that because you two had sex." Stiles gestures between them, and Ashley looks down in shame. "Right? And how long has this been going on exactly?"

"A few months. Two max." She breathes out, her lip quivering in shame. "I'm not trying to excuse it, I'm not," She continues, holding her hands up. "It's just...I know you don't love me. Your mind is somewhere else. You don't even want me either, Stiles, I know that. We fight all the time; we never get along. We shouldn't be together. We both know it."

"Why the hell didn't you just break up with me then? This is ridiculous." Stiles laughs, and Ashley doesn't reply. There's not much to say. Lydia finally finds her courage to speak up.

"So you didn't really like me, then?" Lydia asks, looking at Jackson. "The whole time?"

"Don't get me wrong, you're hot. And in another world, I think we could be together. But I don't date. And don't act like you're so hurt by this, Lydia. I know you never really wanted me either." He replies smugly, and she shakes her head.

"Yeah, I did. I did want you. I liked you. Stiles kissed me, okay? And...God, that was only because he's mad that Ashley likes you and not him. And I know you played on Ashley's feelings too. Not that her cheating wasn't wrong, but you knew that she liked you, and you used it to your advantage. You're really disgusting, you know that?" Lydia fights tears, and shakes her head. "I should have gone with my instincts when you asked me out."

"You think I care? I doubt you would have even been worth the wait, anyway," He huffs, clenching his jaw. Before Lydia can even blink, Ashley lets out a cry. Stiles punched Jackson.

Jackson bends over, blood spewing out of his nose. His teeth are all layered in blood too, and Stiles is clenches his fists so hard that his knuckles are white.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," He seethes, trying to contain the sudden adrenaline rush. Jackson laughs, spitting the blood out on the floor. Ashley is already next to him, crying and wiping his nose with a tissue.

"At least we don't have to pretend to be friends anymore," He tells Stiles, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth.

"Let's go." Allison pulls Lydia's arm, and they start walking out of the room.

"Wait!" Jackson calls, and Lydia closes her eyes and breathes in as he turns her around. Allison backs off slightly, but still keeps a grip on Lydia's other arm just in case.

"What?" Lydia asks, completely burned out.

"The bracelet. I need it. The girls have usually thrown it back at me by this point." He sighs, looking down at her wrist.

"Go to hell." She replies bitterly, and forcefully throws it on the ground.

"Oh, Lydia," Jackson sighs, picking it up nonchalantly. "We're in highschool. I'm already there."

Lydia and Allison leave school after that. Scott calls a lot, and Allison texts him that they are okay, but she can't talk right now. They get in bed, and Lydia cries while Allison tells her it'll be okay.

"Now I have nothing. I guess I never did in the first place though, right? I mean...how stupid was I to think that Jackson Whittemore liked me? Or that Stiles Stilinski would kiss me for the sole reason that he wanted to?" Lydia cries through swollen eyelids, and Allison sighs and runs her hand over her hair.

"Stiles likes you, Lydia. God, I can't believe you still can't see that." Allison laughs, laying her head back against the headboard. "He walked in and saw his girlfriend with his arch enemy. But he didn't punch Jackson then, no. He only punched him when Jackson said you weren't worth the wait. He punched him when he hurt your feelings." Allison tries to convince her, but Lydia isn't having it.

"I don't even care right now. Guys are jerks. All of them. I just want to lay here and cry." Lydia whines, burying her face in her pillow.

"Then lay here and cry we shall." Allison laughs softly, and pulls the blanket up to both of their chins.

The next day at school, Lydia avoids Stiles as much as she can. She's not even sure what the situation is between them, because they haven't even spoken to each other since the awkward "both of us walking in on our boyfriend/girlfriend cheating" thing.

She sees Ashley and Jackson walking through the halls, but Ashley looks like she didn't sleep at all last night. She still looks beautiful, of course, but disheveled in a way.

"Lydia?" Ashley stops her in the hallway after last period. She looks miserable.

"Hey, Ashley," Lydia bites her lip, wondering what the hell this could possibly be about.

"I am...I'm so sorry. I feel so horrible. I shouldn't have been doing what I was doing, especially since you two were together. I don't know why I did it, and I know you probably just think I'm some whore or something. But...I love Jackson. I love him, and sometimes I wish I didn't. I know I can come off sort of...uh, rude, but I really am sorry for everything. I just want you to know that."

"I understand, Ashley, I do," Lydia smiles weakly, realizing that she's in a similar situation with Stiles. "Just know that there's someone good out there for you somewhere. You'll be okay."

"Thank you," Ashley smiles back, stifling back tears. "I know we aren't really friends, but just know that I'm here if you need anything."

"Same for you," Lydia offers, and Ashley gives one more smile before she disappears down the hallway.

Lydia feels sorry for her. Ashley knows upfront how terrible Jackson is, but love is love. You don't get to choose who it is that sparks the crazy-sick feeling inside of you, but sometimes Lydia wonders how much easier life would be if you could.


	38. Baseball Bat

It's hard to see Ashley and Jackson at school. Not that she's heartbroken or anything, but it's...still difficult to process everything going on right now. They didn't do the whole “Wednesday night” thing this week; it was too weird. It'll take a little while to get use to these changes.

The hardest part of all of this, though, is seeing Stiles pretending like he's fine. She knows he isn't. She isn't really, either. 

“How you holdin’ up?” Stiles asks, nudging her arm at the lunch table. She breathes in, staring down at her food. She lets her fork fall against her plate, and she runs her fingers through her hair. These are the first words he's spoken to her in three days. 

“I'm okay.” She glances at him for a moment, gulping. She looks back down, trying to clear her head. That's always been hard when Stiles is around. “How are you?”

“I'm great. Life sucks, then you move on.” He shrugs, sipping his drink. “So I moved on.”

She wants to say something, but she doesn't. So they sit there in silence.

“So are you coming to the game tonight? You missed the first.” He asks, trying to lighten the conversation. 

“Uhh, I...I guess.” She sighs, biting her bottom lip. He's trying to act like nothing happened, and it's annoying and wrong and it's pissing her off. 

“Great. See you then.” He throws his leg over the bench easily, and then walks out of the cafeteria, leaving her there alone. Just like that.

Lydia and Allison hang around the stands while they practice before the game starts. And when it finally does, they win. Of course, because they always do. 

Lydia is sitting next to Allison, who is standing up and cheering for Scott. Lydia can't help but glance over at Ashley. She feels sorry for her, because she knows what it feels like to be in love with someone that you don't want to be in love with. It's tormenting.

“Lydia are you gonna come to the party with us?” Scott asks five minutes later, now that her and Allison are on the field. 

“What party?” She asks, keeping her eyes on Scott so she doesn't glance over at Stiles, who is dabbing the sweat off of his chest with his shirt. 

“Come on, the celebration party! Since we won! And don't worry, Jackson won't be there.” He assures her, and Allison nudges her arm.

“Yeah, come on, Lyd.” She smiles at her, and Lydia know that what she's really trying to say is,  _ "Come on, Lydia, it's time you get out again." _ but she isn't ready right now.

"No, that's okay," She waves them off, laughing. "I think I'm going to turn in early. Need to get some, you know, Z's."

"Aw, are you sure?" Allison asks, furrowing her eyebrows with concern.

"Yeah, I'm good! Seriously. A party just...I just don't have the energy tonight; I'm super tired." She laughs, once again shooting finger guns. She mentally scolds herself.

"Alright, well if you change your mind just call us, okay?" Scott says, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah, will do." She promises, laughing it off. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Mhmm. See you at ten for breakfast?" Allison asks, grabbing Scott's hand.

"Sounds great," Lydia replies, waving as they smile and turn around to leave.

"Bye, Leia," Stiles gives a small wave, and then disappears through the doors with the others before she can even say goodbye.

When she gets home, she lays lazily on the couch for two hours watching a cooking show. She's eaten about a pound of chocolate, and she's wrapped in about a thousand blankets even though it's hotter than hell outside. When one of the chefs on the show gets kicked off, right as her eyes are finally shutting in exhaustion, she hears a knock on the door. More of a bang, really.

"Shit," She sits up, gulping. Her first thought is serial killer. She almost trips over the coffee table as she searches for a weapon. Finally, behind the door in the kitchen, she finds a baseball bat. She's quietly trying to make her way to the door, when more banging begins. She covers her hand over her mouth as to not shriek, and her hands are shaking while she stands by the door, trying to build up courage.

She breathes in deeply, practically accepting the death that awaits her, and inches the door open.

"Just me," Stiles says, propping his head against the bricks on her front porch. "Jesus Christ, were you gonna hit me with that thing?"

"No," She laughs, breathing in a sigh of relief. "Well, kind of. I thought you were a killer or something."

"Why would a killer knock on the door when he could just bust in?" He smiles, and his eyelids are notably heavy. She sets the baseball bat down, gulping.

"I don't know, Stiles, maybe it was a polite serial killer, okay?" She huffs, trying to figure out what's going on. "Are you drunk? Did you drive here?"

"Yes and no," He shrugs, blinking hard. "I walked."

"Are you kidding? Christ, why?" She furrows her eyebrows, trying to process this.

"I don't know. You know what I'm going through, I guess," He takes in a breath, and then lets it out. "Can I come in?"

"Oh - Oh yeah, sure, I'm sorry," She laughs awkwardly, and steps to the side to let him in. She widens her eyes, and makes a break to the couch. In a second, she sweeps all of the chocolate wrappers under the couch, and throws the blankets behind it. Right as she turns around, he walks in.

"Do you have a first aid kit or something?" He asks, obviously in pain as he walks towards her. "I kind of fell on my way here. In some thorn bushes. I scraped my side."

"What? Yeah, I'll be back in a sec," She rushes to the bathroom, finds the first aid kit, and then comes back. "What's the damage?"

"Not too bad, but I don't want any infection," He sighs, laying back on the couch and lifting his shirt. He makes a pained groan as she sees the red, bloody gashes on the lower left side of his stomach.

"Not bad? Jesus, Stiles," She swallows thickly, and opens the first aid kit with her shaky hands. "Lay back on the couch and take your shirt off."

"I love when you talk dirty, Lydia," He gives a pained laugh, and does as he's told. She tries to imagine that this is just any normal person.  _ Anyone _ that isn't Stiles, really.

"Man, you're even an asshole when completely intoxicated," She laughs, and he's smiling at her when she turns around. She looks away from his stare, and tries to stay focus on the main issue: Stiles' wound.

"I always have to mess with you, you know that," He sighs, and his muscles clench as she dabs a peroxide-soaked cotton ball on the red skin.

"Yeah, I do," She rolls her eyes, and then gently blows on the spot to dry it.

"You know, blowjobs don't actually consist of blowing." He smiles smugly, and she shakes her head.

"Quiet, Stilinski, or you'll have another injury to worry about," She raises an eyebrow, and he gives a goofy grin. She has to look away because a smile is erupting on her face and she’s embarrassed that he can affect her this way.

"Okay, okay, I get it," He put his hands up in surrender, and she laughs while she gently rubs ointment on the cuts. She can feel his eyes on her while she gently places a bandage over the marks, and she tries to keep her mind set on what she's doing instead of him.

"Is your mom not home?" He asks, as she snaps the first aid kit back shut. His eyes are droopy, and his words are slurring his speech.

"She is. She sleeps like a rock. God, I could be getting brutally murdered right now and she wouldn't even know." Lydia laughs, and then finally looks up at him. Her legs are curled under her while she sits on the floor next to the couch.

He just nods and smiles, understanding now.

"So...at lunch today. Did you really mean what you said?" She gulps, realizing he probably won't even remember this in the morning. Which is the only reason why she’s asking this.

"What did I say?" He asks, trying to remember.

"You said you moved on. But...how? Didn't you...didn't you love Ashley?" She asks, and his eyes dart to the ceiling. After a short period of time in silence, she's convinced he hates her now.

"I did." He replies quietly, thinking. She loves watching the way his face looks when he lets his guard down about things. "But I stopped loving her long before this. So that's why I'm not very hurt. I suspected this anyway."

"I should have listened to you." She gulps, watching his face. "I should have listened about Jackson. You were right."

"That's okay," He turns his head, and he's looking directly in her eyes. She feels her face start to heat up with his gaze on her, but the softness in his voice and the heaviness of his eyes makes him easier to talk to than it has ever been before.  "You deserve better than him."

"Thank you," She swallows thickly, trying to maintain eye contact. He gives a drowsy lopsided smile, and her heart melts. His hand gently cups her face then, and she leans into it and closes her eyes. She sets her hand on top of his, and she feels like her throat is closing up from lack of oxygen. When she opens her eyes, his stare is so intense that she has to part her lips to catch a breath.

"Come here," He whispers, so quietly, in fact, that she has to read his lips to know what he said. That may also have to do with the blood rushing through her ears. Either way, she complies.

She slowly leans in closer, and his dark-brown eyes are glancing between her eyes and lips, before settling on her eyes. She removes her hand from on top of his, and she slides it down his arm. He takes in a sharp, uneven breath, and that's right before he kisses her.

She lets out a soft moan as soon as their lips touch, because she has just wanted this so much and she can hardly contain herself. His lips are soft and hungry against hers, and the gentleness of his touch is sending waves of chills across her body. When he deepens the kiss, though, it immediately reminds her of the current situation.

She pulls away from him reluctantly, and just like that day in the hospital, his eyes stay closed for a few more seconds before flickering open. He furrows his eyebrows curiously, silently asking why she pulled away.

"You're drunk, Stiles," She laughs weakly, the love in her heart inducing actual pain.

"So?" He says softly, and that alone makes her heart race.

"So it's not real right now. You're not in your right mind." She answers, lowering her head. He just looks at her for a second, before leaning down and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"What are you doing?!" She laughs, shaking her head as he pulls her onto the couch next to him. He doesn't answer, he just pulls her against him. She can feel his lean muscles pressing against her back, forcing his heat on it.

"I may be drunk," He mutters against the skin of her neck, and she can tell he's on the very edge of sleep. "But I'm in my right mind."

And they both fall asleep that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone loved this chapter as much as I loved writing it!


	39. Plans

Lydia groans and shifts, but she can hardly breathe. She shifts once more, feeling arms wrap tightly around her waist. She takes in a sharp breath, feeling the fresh air in her lungs. She hums quietly and slides her hand on top of the ones on her waist. 

Suddenly her eyes snap open. Not because she feels the strong arms wrapped tightly around her - no. She’s wide awake now, because of the lips on her neck. She swallows thickly and tries not to move. Stiles, she now remembers, is the one with his entire body wrapped around hers. He’s breathing hot air against her neck, sending waves of pleasure from her neck all the way down to her toes. He’s obviously still asleep, because his breath is even and he’s sighing. 

She isn’t sure what to do. She doesn’t want to get up and ruin this perfect moment, but she also knows that she definitely won’t be able to go back to sleep after her heart is racing so fast. So she just decides to stay there and enjoy this for as long as she possibly can. She closes her eyes and smiles, trying to take it all in. She’s not with Jackson and he’s not with Ashley anymore, so she doesn’t have to feel any guilt.

But...what does all of this even mean? He came to her while he was  _ drunk.  _ Is that a good thing? Maybe he was thinking, “I don't want to wait another second to see Lydia. I'm drunk and the only thing I can think of is her.” Or he could be just thinking, “my friends are all plastered and I need to talk to someone. Lydia is the only one not intoxicated beyond her natural ability to speak, so I think I’ll go to her.” Either way, he’s here, and he has his arms wrapped so tightly around her that she can hardly breathe. And it’s amazing. 

It’s about twenty minutes before Stiles finally stirs. Lydia immediately shuts her eyes and pretends she’s not awake. She feels him slowly sit up, yawning. She imagines him looking around the room, confused, not knowing where he is. She feels him freeze, too, and that’s probably when he sees her lying there next to him. He lets out a sigh, and she tries to determine what exactly it means. Is he happy? Upset? Regretful? She's not sure she even wants to find out.

And then the thing she dreads the most starts happening. He slowly pulls his arms off of her, and then quietly crawls over her, off the couch. Of course it's practically silent because of his gracefulness. So silent, in fact, that it wouldn't have even woken her if she had still been asleep.

She doesn't know what to think about this. The clearest thing, though, is that he doesn’t want to wake her while he leaves, and that thought ruins everything. She doesn't know exactly what she was expecting to happen, but this is not at all what she wanted. 

She shifts on the couch, because she’s afraid she’ll start crying any second, and that isn’t something most people do in their sleep so she doesn’t want him to see. So she turns around and bites her lip, burying her face in the crevice of the couch where Stiles was laying just minutes ago.

“Lydia?” She hears a whisper, and she practically jumps because she wasn’t expecting it. But she tries to keep her breath even to make it seem like she’s still asleep. “Lydia, wake up.”

She yawns and stretches, still pretending to be half asleep. She lays there for a second before she allows her eyes to flutter open. Stiles is crouched down beside the couch smiling at her. 

“Hey,” She fully turns her body, and smiles sleepily at him. He’s already put his shirt and shoes back on.

“Hey,” He smiles back, and his voice is still raspy from sleep. It’s so hot. “I’m about to head out. It’s only eight thirty but I didn’t want your mom to walk in on...” He doesn’t finish the thought. “Anyway, I thought I’d slip out and try to get this hangover gone before breakfast. Jog, drink water, something.”

“Okay, that’s fine. See you at ten?” She asks, pulling the blanket up to her chin. 

“Yeah,” He nods, patting her arm. “See you at ten.”

She isn’t sure where this even leaves them, really. It isn’t as if they slept together or anything - it was just a kiss. It could have even been just a “thanks for dealing with my whiny drunk ass” kind of kiss for all she knows. This is so confusing. 

“Oh, and you’ll have to explain what happened last night. I don’t really remember.” He laughs, scratching the back of his neck as he stands up. 

Oh awesome, he doesn’t even  _ remember  _ the kiss. Or he’s just pretending not to remember because he’s embarrassed about it. Either way is horrible. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll tell you. Not very eventful, really; you were plastered.” She looks up at him, laughing awkwardly. 

“Man, and here I was, thinking we had sex,” He sighs, but can’t keep the slight smile off of his face. 

“Shut up,” She laughs, throwing a pillow at him. He catches it and then tosses it on the chair. 

“I’m joking,” He waves her off, still smiling. “But thanks, though.”

“For what?” She asks curiously. 

“You didn’t have to let me in last night but you did. And God, all I remember is pain because of this stupid cut. But I was upset about Ashley at the party last night; it was horrible. The alcohol...really got to me, I guess you could say. But anyway, thanks for taking care of me.” He smiles, and hesitates at the door waiting for a response. “Just...thanks for being a good friend.”

“No problem.” She says, forcing a smile. He nods and he walks out the door, closing it quietly. 

She sits there in silence, the words hurting more and more with each passing second.  _ Thanks for being a good friend.  _ It isn't like she believes in the “friendzone” or anything; that's ridiculous. It's just that after all they've been through, “friends” is what they are? Do friends kiss each other this many times? God, this sucks. At least he didn’t leave without waking her up though. 

So she lays there for a minute, thinking about last night, not wanting to get up. It was all she’s ever dreamed of, and it all happened in one night. She can’t even  _ believe  _ it, and the more she thinks about it, the more surreal it becomes. 

So finally she drags herself out of bed, and gets ready. She takes a shower and finds a cute outfit. She has to send pictures to Allison first, of course, to make sure it’s as cute as she thinks. 

When she get to the diner finally, she instantly sees Allison and Scott at their normal spot. No Stiles. She starts walking towards them, but then something grabs her arm. 

“Come here,” Stiles says, turning her around and smiling. Those words immediately make her flashback to last night when he said those same ones. “We’re in charge of ordering the milkshakes.”

“Milkshakes?” She laughs, pretending her heart isn’t racing as she sits next to him in a stool at the bar. “It’s not even ten a.m. yet.”

“Yeah, yeah, suddenly Miss Responsible,” He waves her off, laughing. “I really feel like a nice, cold milkshake would cure this hangover. What kind do you want?”

“Uhhh, chocolate.” She decides, aimlessly tearing up an empty straw wrapper. 

“Cool, me too,” He smiles at her, and  _ God  _ why the hell does he have to do that? His stupid perfect smile makes her actually want to drive her car into a brick wall just so she can get it out of her head for two seconds. 

Stiles orders the milkshakes, and Lydia is swirling around in her chair as they wait. 

“I'm hungry,” He sighs, turning to look at her. 

“Kinda seems like the exact reason why we’re all here.” Lydia narrows her eyes, and he rolls his with a smile. 

“We ordered already so the food should be getting to the booth any time. Allison ordered yours.”

“Thank God. She knows what I like.” Lydia replies, relieved. “What did you order?”

“Quad stack of chocolate chip pancakes, side of bacon, hash browns, and sausage.” He nods, yawning. 

“You're eating all of that?” She questions, putting her hand on the bar to stop herself from spinning.

“Yeah, why?” He asks, laughing at the obvious confusion on her face. 

“I just don't get how you can look like...never mind.” She laughs awkwardly, and then continues to spin in her chair. 

“No, finish what you were going to say,” He stops the stool with his hand, looking in her eyes. 

“I...was just saying. How do you look like that with how much food you eat on a daily basis?” She laughs awkwardly, trying to ease the tension. 

“Look like what?” He asks, trapping her on purpose. The smug smile on his face tells her that. 

“You know,” She shrugs, letting out a breathy laugh.

“Hmmm, not sure I do.” He sighs, rubbing his chin. 

“You're like, fit. You have abs and stuff. That's all I was going to say.” She replies nonchalantly.

“‘Fit’ as in the US or UK terminology?” He asks curiously, and she narrows her eyes. 

“I literally have no idea what you mean.” She sighs, and turns back to the bar. 

“Mmm, sure,” He laughs, right as the waitress slides their milkshakes to them. 

“Thanks,” Stiles smiles, winking at her.

“God,” Lydia rolls her eyes, grabbing two of them. 

“What?” Stiles opens his mouth, pressing his hand to his heart dramatically. 

“You're such a flirt.” She shakes her head, trying to hide her smile. 

“No, I am not.” He scoffs, shaking his head as he turns back around in his stool. “I happen to be deeply in love with Glenda.”

“That's exactly why he gets free milkshakes.” Glenda laughs, ruffling his hair. Of course it's a joke; Glenda has to be about sixty. But they obviously have a bit going, and Stiles is so cute right now that it's actually painful.

“It's unrequited,” He sighs longingly, reaching out for her. She slaps his hands away, laughing.

“I’m too old for you, boy,” She laughs again, walking away and sighing. 

“You're an idiot.” Lydia laughs, feeling short of breath. 

“I'm in love, Lydia.” He smiles at her, pretending to be daydreaming.

“God,” Lydia laughs, stepping down from the stool. 

“Wait a sec,” Stiles stops her, turning in his stool to face her. “You said you'd tell me what happened last night.” 

“Oh,” She laughs, hoping he would have forgotten to ask by now. “Well I was just watching TV, and then you knocked on the door. Then you came in hurt, so you laid on the couch and I doctored you up. That's about it.”

She decides to leave out the embarrassing ‘baseball bat’ thing, and also the kiss. If he's pretending not to remember, she wants to pretend she doesn't either. 

“How did you end up on the couch with me?” He asks, and she wants to  _ yell  _ at him because why can't he just remember and spare her the embarrassment?

“You, uh, pulled me up with you.” She shrugs, biting her lip. Then she tries to deflect the situation. “You're so touchy when you're drunk. It was a little embarrassing, honestly. For you.”

“Oh whatever. You know you loved it,” he laughs and nudges her arm with his, walking past her to go to the booth. She follows him, thinking “yeah, I did.”

Lydia didn't have the chance to tell Allison about the whole “Stiles came to my house drunk last night” incident, so when Scott asks where Stiles ran off to last night, Lydia’s eyes widen. 

“I actually went and saw Lydia last night,” Stiles explains, and Lydia is so surprised that he actually told them the truth, that she tries not to choke on her waffle. Allison looks over at Lydia, silently asking “what the hell?!” Lydia just looks away.

“Alcohol probably wasn't the best idea last night; I kept think about the Ashley situation. I knew Lydia had been through the same thing, so I went to talk to her. Too bad I passed out after about five minutes.” He laughs and sighs, shoving almost a whole half of a pancake in his mouth. 

“Ohhh. We looked for you, but we figured you just left.” Scott laughs, and Stiles nods. 

“Yeah, I meant to contact you guys but I totally forgot. Sorry.” 

“That's alright. We’re just glad you're okay.” Allison laughs, but keeps her eyes on Lydia’s, not believing the “just fell asleep” story.

“So what are we doing today?” Lydia looks around at them, gulping. 

“It's been awhile since we've all hung out together.” Scott smiles, putting his arm around Allison.

“We could...go to a water park.” Stiles suggests, sitting back. Lydia tries not to dwell on the fact that his arm is around the back of her seat. It's not around her, but still. Close enough. “The one I went to a lot in the summer is still open a few more weeks.”

“Oh, that sounds so fun! We should do it!” Allison gasps, grinning and looking at Scott. “Do you want to?”

“Yeah, that sounds awesome! Lydia?” Scott asks, looking equally excited. 

“Uhhh, yeah,” She smiles, trying to look enthusiastic. “Yeah, that’ll be fun.”

“Great!” Scott laughs, pushing his empty plate away. 

“Let’s all go get ready and meet back at my place in say...forty-five minutes?” Allison says, looking at all of them for confirmation. 

“That’s good with me.” Stiles shrugs with a smile, taking a sip of his milkshake. 

“Okay let’s go, then.” Allison can’t contain her excitement, as they all leave their portion of money on the table for the bill and get up. They all walk outside to the parking lot and stand there planning.

“We all need to get our bathing suits, change of clothes for after, towels, sunglasses, sunscreen, and...I’ll be in charge of the drinks. Is that okay?” Allison asks, and they all nod in agreement. She grins. “Okay. See you guys in forty-five minutes.” 

They all go to their cars, and Lydia is trying so hard to be excited, but she’s finding it difficult. She’s insecure about her body, so this is one of the most terrifying moments of her entire life. But she has to get over it sometime, right? She just wishes it didn’t have to mean being half-naked around Stiles for that to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked the light feel of this one - I feel like it has been a while! Anyway, hope you all like it!


	40. Meet Up

“You can do this,” Lydia breathes in, looking at herself in the mirror. She’s wearing her bathing suit, trying to convince herself that she  _ won’t  _ die today. Man, she wishes Allison was here right now. “Stiles is only a person. A...very attractive person, but still just a person. You’ve got this.”

Just then her phone starts ringing. She breathes in and falls back on her bed, answering it. God must have heard her needs. 

“Allison. Thank Christ.” Lydia laughs, rolling over and groaning. “I’m not going.”

“I called because I knew that exact thing was going through your mind right now.” Allison laughs, sighing. “Are you wearing your black one piece?” 

“Yeah.” Lydia huffs, whining pitifully. 

“Good, you look hot in that! It’s going to be boner city at that water park.” Allison laughs, and Lydia covers her face even though no one else is even there to see the embarrassment on it. 

“Shut up,” She laughs and shakes her head, getting up from the bed. “I don’t want to wear just this. What are you wearing for on the way?”

“A sun dress. You can wear just shorts and a tank top if you want. It's not a big deal, Lydia.” Allison tells her, and Lydia can hear the smile in her voice. 

“I know. I'm trying not to freak out.” She laughs and sighs, putting her phone on speaker and setting it on her dresser as she digs through her drawers. 

“Are you okay though, really? If it's that bad I'll come up with an excuse for us not to go. I want you to be comfortable.” Allison tells her, real concern in her voice. 

“No. I mean yes,” Lydia laughs, gulping. “I’ll be fine. It’s good to face fears, right?”

“Yes,” Allison laughs, sighing. “Head over here soon. Don’t forget a towel.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few,” Lydia replies, picking her phone up and switching speaker phone off. They say goodbye, and Lydia throws on shorts and a halter top, and then heads out the door, grabbing a towel on the way out.

“He kissed me,” Lydia explains to Allison ten minutes later, sitting on her kitchen counter top. The first question Allison asked, of course, is “what the hell happened last night?”

“Can I have a little context?” Allison grins, glancing out of the kitchen window to make sure Scott or Stiles hadn’t driven up yet. 

“He came over drunk, and he had fallen in a bush or something and scraped his side. So he was laying on my couch shirtless as I put a bandage on it, and...he, um...kissed me. It wasn’t sudden or anything; I was actually expecting it this time. For once.” Lydia sighs longingly, remembering the way his lips felt against hers. 

“So? What happened after that?” Allison grins excitedly, crossing her arms. 

“I pulled away. He was really drunk.” Lydia sighs, biting her lip. 

“Yeah, but he was blackout drunk and kissing you was on his mind. That’s kind of a comforting thought.” Allison shrugs, biting into an apple. 

“I guess. But I’ll only be impressed when he does it sober.” Lydia laughs softly, running her fingers through her hair. “But after that he pulled me onto the couch, and we...cuddled all night.” She sees Allisons face light up, but she cuts in again before she gets  _ too _ excited. “He doesn’t remember any of it, though. So it was all practically worthless.”

“He told you he doesn’t remember?” Allison gasps, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“Yeah, this morning. He asked me what happened, and I told him. Although I left out the kiss part.” Lydia explains, biting her cheek. Allison opens her mouth to say something - yell at her, probably - but then the door opens. Lydia widens her eyes and turns the other way, pretending to be deeply interested in the wall. 

“What’s up?” She hears a voice,  _ his  _ voice, and she breathes in and closes her eyes. 

“Hey, Stiles,” Allison laughs, surprisingly composed after the scare. “Ready to go?”

“Yep,” He nods, and Lydia finally turns to look at him. He’s leaning against the kitchen doorway shirtless, and wearing swim trunks. Somehow, even after all of the times she’s seen him like this, she still has to gulp. “Scott’s not here yet?”

He looks over at Lydia then, as she hops down from the counter. She looks away, pushing her lips together. 

“Actually, I am,” Scott laughs, walking in next to him with a grin. As hard as Lydia tries, she literally cannot think of anything but the fact that Stiles is half naked just, like, ten feet away from her. “Just got here. I hope you guys haven’t been waiting too long.”

“No, Stiles just got here. It’s fine.” Allison smiles, and they kiss. Stiles keeps his eyes on Lydia, and before she knows it, he’s making his way towards her across the kitchen. She wants to scream. 

“Excited?” He asks, laughing lightly. He widens his arms out, leaning back against the counter. 

“Uhh, sure. I guess.” She laughs, shrugging her shoulders. 

“Don’t like water or something?” He asks, still smiling. 

“No, water is fine. I just...I don’t know.” She gulps, trying to come up with an excuse. “Something about all of those germs in public pools - not the best thought ever.”

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” He laughs, not fully convinced, she can tell, but he doesn’t press it any further.

After Scott and Allison finish their gross I-haven’t-seen-you-in-and-hour-I’m-dying reunion, they finally get in Allison’s car and drive to the water park. Stiles and Lydia don’t do much talking on the way because Stiles is mostly giving Allison directions the whole time. 

Lydia’s heart is pounding as they reach the parking lot. There are probably hundreds of cars surrounding them, which means hundreds of people. By the time they get to the ticket booth, she feels like she’s going to be sick. 

“Is this number sixteen?” Allison asks, smoothing out her piece of paper. They all pitched in and rented their own private table and chairs overlooking one of the huge pools. 

“Yeah, it is,” Scott answers her, and Allison shoves the paper in her bag. They all get settled in, and Lydia wants to shrink away when Allison takes off her dress, revealing her perfect body. 

“My favorite is the big slide over there.” Stiles points, slipping his shoes off with a grin. “Let’s go.”

Lydia’s hands hesitate on her shorts, before she unzips them and slides them down her legs. She pretends like she can’t feel Stiles watching her, as she pulls her shirt over her head as well. She runs her fingers through her hair and then stuffs her clothes in Allison’s bag. 

She looks at Stiles first - ashamed that she’s curious about his reaction. She’s surprised to find his eyes slowly taking in her body. She isn’t sure if it’s good or bad, but it makes her get butterflies either way.

“If it’s your favorite then let’s go.” She laughs, bumping his arm playfully. 

“Right behind you,” He mutters, Scott and Allison following close behind. 

Whether it’s good or bad, she knows she’s gotten a reaction out of him, and it’s a good feeling knowing that the tables have finally turned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is so short I know! I'm sorry, I really am. I've been very busy the past few weeks, but I'm really trying. I promise Thursday's will be longer - this is really just a filler chapter.


	41. Fourteen

“Stiles, how the hell do you forget that this slide is two people at a time?” Lydia gulps, running her fingers through her hair. 

“I don’t know,” He shrugs nonchalantly, and they step to the side so Allison and Scott can go first. 

She sighs and crosses her arms, biting her lip. This is a nightmare.  

He looks at her for a second, and then turns. 

“God, I’m sure they’ll let us go one at a time if it’s that big of a deal. Not that I exactly want to go with you either.” He huffs dramatically, and she scoffs. He rolls his eyes and grabs a mat, smoothly going down the slide before she can even reply. 

That was out of nowhere. He’s either super nice and flirty or a complete and utter dick - there’s no inbetween with him, and that drives her insane. She waits until the lifeguard gives her the go, and then she slides down. She doesn’t want to let Stiles ruin this day for her, so she laughs and smiles while the water splashes her. Stiles is in the pool when she falls in, but he’s looking the other way, ignoring her. 

“That was fun!” Lydia laughs, pushing her wet hair out of her face. 

“I know!” Allison grins, letting Scott hold her up in the water. “Which one next?” 

“The toilet bowl one. Definitely.” Scott grins, and Stiles follows behind them, sulking. What the hell is even wrong with him?

They go on the toilet bowl ride, two other slides, and a diving board, before deciding to go relax in the hot tub. Stiles is ignoring Lydia, so she does the same to him. 

“Lydia,” Allison smiles, leaning towards her in the hot tub. 

“Yeah?” Lydia asks, peeking one of her eyes open to look at her. 

“That cute lifeguard keeps looking over here at you.” Allison bites her lip with a grin, and Lydia sits up. 

“What?” She opens her mouth, glancing around to look for the guy. “Where?”

“By the small pool. Over there.” Allison discreetly nods her head in the general direction, and Lydia leans over to catch a glimpse. Of course as soon as she looks, he glances over at them again. 

“Oh God, he is looking!” Lydia sits back, pushing her lips together. “He is so cute.”

Stiles is laying his head back against the edge of the pool, relaxing. She wants him to be jealous, but he isn’t. If he likes her, then wouldn’t he be jealous right now?

“He’s looking at you. You should go talk to him.” Scott smiles, and Lydia grins. 

“No, I...I can’t.” Lydia shakes her head, glancing over at him again. 

“She’s not gonna do it,” Stiles sighs, keeping his eyes shut as he relaxes. 

“Uh...what?” Lydia crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. He sits up and looks at her, shrugging. 

“I said you aren’t going to do it,” He half-smiles, but in a “I know what I’m talking about” way, and that pisses her off. “I think I know you pretty well by now. You won’t go talk to him.”

“Oh yeah?” Lydia retorts, standing up. “Watch me.”

He gave a blank look as she got out of the hot tub, and walked over to the lifeguard. She felt a lot more confident saying it than actually doing it, because now she wants to run away. But her urge to prove Stiles wrong is stronger.

“Hi,” She smiles, walking up to the lifeguard. He smiles back and gets comfortable in his seat, laughing nervously.

“Hey,” He replies, darting his eyes around her face, and then down, down, down... "You're...really sexy."

"Uh..." She furrows her eyebrows, suddenly taken aback. His voice is squeaky. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen. And you, babe?" He smiles, and she gasps.

"Oh, God, you're a kid. I have to...go. Also don't call me babe. Ever." She huffs, crossing her arms insecurely as she goes back to the hot tub, blushing. That was literally the most humiliating moment of her life.

"What happened?" Allison asks, pushing through the hot tub to get to Lydia's side.

"I...he was fourteen. And he called me babe." Lydia shivers with disgust, closing her eyes.

"Oh shit!" Stiles claps and laughs, sighing contently.

"I'm so glad you find this so amusing, Stiles," Lydia splashes water at him, pissed off.

"Ahhh, I really needed that today." He smiles, gently splashing Lydia back. "That was good."

"Okay, you don't have to be so rude," Lydia huffs, turning the other way, annoyed.

"I'm joking," He splashes her again, this time harder to get her attention. "You do know what a joke is, right?"

"Oh no, Stiles, I don't. Can you please explain what a joke is to me since I'm so dumb?" She pretends naivety, clasping her hands together in a begging manner. He just laughs and lays back again, sighing.

"Your wit is unbearably annoying," He admits, stretching his muscular arms across the sides of the hot tub.

"Your... _ you _ are incredibly annoying," She retorts, not being able to come up with a better excuse.

"Oooh, good one," He peeks an eye open at her, and then winks with a smile. She looks away, feeling a nervous knot in her stomach that won't go away.

"Can we get up and ride something? My skin is on fire and it's shrivelling up like an old lady." Lydia laughs, trying to change the subject. "Let's go on the toilet one again."

"Uhh, you guys go ahead," Allison smiles at Lydia, practically pulling Scott out of the hot tub. "We're gonna go...swim. We'll meet up later."

"Jesus, they never get tired do they?" Stiles laughs, running his thumb around the waistband of his shorts to adjust it. God, and she can almost make out the outline of his d- "Like what you see?"

"What?" Lydia asks, waving him off. "I have no idea what you mean."

"So...you weren't just checking me out then, right?" He asks, pretending to look confused.

"Pfft, no," She laughs, shaking her head.

"Can I ask a question?" He licks his lips, running his fingers through his wet hair.

"Actually you just d-"

"Do you find me sexually attractive, Lydia?" He asks with a small, evil smile on his face.

"I...I don't understand the question," She shrugs, glancing around the park and pretending to be interested.

"It's simple. Do you think I'm hot?"

"I don't want to answer that." She breathes in, forcing herself to look up at him.

"Why not?" He asks, tilting his head with a smile. "Scared?"

"Scared of what? And God, it isn't like you would answer the question either, so..."

"You're hot." He replies, looking directly in her eyes while he says it. "See? That simple."

"I, uh..." She laughs nervously, and then clears her throat and tries to compose herself.

"You don't even have to answer. I saw you checking me out - that was enough." He gives a knowing smile, and then stands again and gets out of the hot tub. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," She gulps, following him to the toilet bowl. How does his mood change so drastically? It's so annoying. "Wait, Stiles!" Lydia jogs to catch up with him, and he spins around to look at her, letting a group of middle-school girls practically squeal with excitement over how cute he is.

"Hmm?" He asks, not even noticing the girls. She gains a spurt of confidence for some reason; her nervous adrenaline taking over her thoughts.

"How's the kitchen counter?" She asks, smirking and crossing her arms. "Fix it yet? How did you do that by the way? Am I just that hot?"

"It's fake granite, genius. We don't have the kind of money for the real stuff," He rolls his eyes, and it's a little awkward because it's the first time they've talked about the kiss and it's in the middle of this stupid waterpark when it should be in one of their rooms so they can kiss again. That’s how she imagined it, at least. "Do you really think I could break granite? Wow, you really must have been thinking about that a lot. Did it turn you on?"

"We're in public, could you have some decency?" Her mouth drops open as she stares at him, trying not to blush.

"You started it," He shrugs, smiling.

"Okay, what are we, ten now?" She shakes her head, walking past him to get in line.

"Don't be a debby downer. Have some fun," He laughs, patting her back comfortingly. Her insides coil with nerves as he touches her skin.

"I am having fun." She turns to look at him. She's about to say something mean or playful - she isn't sure yet. But now, turning to look at him and he's so close, she's mesmerized. His smile is breathtaking, and his eyelashes flutter every few seconds and then blink back open to reveal his dark brown eyes. She turns around quickly and gulps.

"Let's just get on this ride. It's my favorite." She laughs, but her voice obviously breaks. She pretends it didn’t happen, and she hopes he didn’t notice. She just still can’t believe that Stiles thinks she’s hot. If she’s been staying up all night before this thinking about him, it’ll be so much worse now, and she’s not looking forward to it.


	42. Kitchen Counters

“So,” Lydia rolls her eyes, listening to Stiles reciting the same pick up lines he always uses on girls. Lydia waits impatiently beside the pool, wading her feet in the water. “Are you here with friends?”

“Yeah. They’re on that slide I think,” She points to the big one, smiling shyly. 

“And they left you all by yourself?” He sighs, shaking his head. “I guess I’ll just have to stay here and keep you company then.”

“Actually, we can’t stay,” Lydia goes and nudges his arm, smiling at the girl apologetically. “We’re supposed to be meeting Allison and Scott at the car right now, remember.”

“Yeah, yeah, just wait a second,” He replies, not even looking at Lydia. This is a real awesome confidence booster. 

“Fine. I’ll just go without you. See you in a minute.” She answers curtly, and turns to leave. She hears him sigh loudly and apologize to the girl, and she smiles as he jogs up next to her. 

“Really, Lydia?” He huffs, bumping her arm in annoyance. “You're going to cock block me?”

“You’re flirting is...a little embarrassing. Consider it a favor.” She answers, rolling her eyes. 

“Well, it’s worked every other time, so I definitely don’t need your help.” He retorts, crossing his arms. 

“It’s not like I even  _ lied  _ to the poor girl; they really are waiting for us. Let’s go.” She replies, feeling angry and annoyed and upset all at once. How is it so easy for him to just flirt with her and the flirt with someone else a second later?

“God, that was tiring,” Lydia sighs, leaning her head against the window and watching the trees pass about five minutes after her and Stiles stopped speaking. They had spent about three hours there letting the sun beat down on them. That would exhaust anyone. 

“Yeah, but it was so fun,” Allison sighs, snuggling up to Scott while he drives. “Thanks for suggesting it, Stiles. I had a great time.”

“No problem,” He laughs, and then Lydia feels him turn to her. They both ignore the way Scott and Allison are whispering and giggling to each other. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah. I had a good time.” Lydia turns to him and smiles briefly, before turning around again. “Did you?”

“Mhmm,” He answers, sighing sleepily. Then he yawns. “Just really tired.”

“Yeah, I am too,” She lets her eyes shut slowly, as she falls into a dreamless sleep. 

The next thing she remembers is being awoken by Stiles. She opens her eyes and presses her hand to the tan leather of the seat, feeling the heat against her palm. Stiles is rubbing his eyes, and she smiles at how adorable it is. 

“Where is Scott and Allison?” She asks, sitting up. 

“I think they’re unloading the car,” Stiles laughs, pushing his fingers through his hair. 

“God, I need coffee.” Lydia groans, gently banging her forehead against the window. 

“Then we should go make some. I’m sure they’ll thank us too.” Stiles laughs, and they get out of the car. 

“By  _ we  _ I guess you meant just  _ me _ .” Lydia laughs, grabbing the coffee pot while Stiles hops onto the counter and relaxes against the cabinets with his hands behind his head. 

“No, I’ll help,” He shrugs, and then reaches over to grab four mugs from the cabinet. 

“Ohhhh, so helpful,” She rolls her eyes with a smile on her face, snapping the lid to the top of the coffee pot. 

“What can I say?” He sighs, smiling at her as she dumps about four spoonfuls of coffee into the machine. 

“Mmm, that smells so good. I already feel so much more awake.” Lydia rubs her hands together, and then presses the “start” button. 

“Have a seat,” Stiles pats the counter beside him, smiling. They can hear Scott and Allison knock something over in the garage, and they laugh. Stiles grabs Lydia’s hand to pull her up, and then she smooths her t-shirt out as she swings her legs. 

“No freaking way,” She freezes for a second, and then groans. “That’s so…”

“What?” Stiles laughs, but furrows his eyebrows in confusion. 

“I just sat in a puddle of water,” She whines and hops off the counter, twisting her back around to look at her ass. “I look like I just pissed myself.”

“It’s not that bad,” He hops off the counter and rubs his chin, trying not to laugh. “Besides, it’s an easy solution.” He shrugs, smiling. “Just take your clothes off.”

“What?” Lydia turns to him, narrowing her eyes. 

“You have your bathing suit under it, right?” He asks, stepping closer to her. She discreetly gulps as she nods, not being able to control how suddenly turned on she is from his small smirk and messy hair and dark eyes and close proximity. 

“Mhmm,” She nods still, not exactly sure what’s happening. He keeps his eyes on her - he doesn’t even look away once. He curves his hands around her waist, pulling her closer, grazing his fingers against the thin fabric of her bathing suit under her shirt. She looks directly back in his eyes while he moves his hands to the front of her shorts, teasingly tracing the waistband with his index finger. 

“Then take these off,” He whispers seductively, making her lips part so she can finally breathe in air. He slowly undoes the button on the top of her shorts, and then the zipper. Then he hooks his thumbs under the part of the waistband that’s on her hips, and pushes the shorts down. She’s frozen in place; she can’t move or speak and she can barely even  _ breathe _ . “And it’s as simple as that.”

“I can take my own shorts off, you know,” She looks up at him, trying to act normal and like she  _ isn’t  _ dying inside, even though she is. And for a second when he looks down at her lips, she’s  _ convinced  _ that he’s about to kiss her again, and she wants him to, but he doesn’t.

“Well, I thought so, but you didn’t exactly stop me. So I assumed you needed assistance.” He tilts his head, looking her up and down. Probably just to annoy her, really. “And if you need any lessons, I can take your shirt off too. Strictly for teaching purposes, though.”

“You just...you think you’re so hot, don’t you?” She huffs, shaking her head with mock annoyance. 

“I know  _ you _ think I am, so this is just so damn easy.” He holds her chin, and slides his thumb across her bottom lip. It takes her a second to even process the situation, and she isn’t sure how to deal with it at all. 

“What is easy, exactly?” She pushes his hand away and he smiles like he knew already knew she was going to.

“Making you all hot and bothered,” He licks his lips as he stares at hers, and then runs two fingers gently down her arm. 

“I am  _ not  _ all hot and bothered,” She scoffs, backing up slightly. When doing that she remembers the shorts that are still wrapped around her ankles, but for once in her life she grabs the cabinet and begins to regain balance before she falls.

“Uhhh...what is this about being all hot and bothered?” Allison asks from the doorway, and Scott laughs with confusion. That sends Lydia over the top. Even though she had just regained balance, she immediately lost it again with the fright Allison gave her, so she felt her stomach drop as she fell backwards. The last thing she remembers is a loud thump and a dull pain in the back of her head.


	43. Flirt Back

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only person I know that can knock themselves out.” Stiles smiles down at her in a blur, and it takes her a moment to process what happened. Then she feels a sharp pain in the back of her skull, and the memories rush back into her mind. 

“God, am I really that big of a dumbass?” She moans and tries to sit up, but he gently pushes her shoulder back down, and she realizes her head is in his lap. 

“You might not want to do that right now,” He laughs, and she looks around Allison’s living room. “We think you may have a concussion.”

“Is she awake?” Allison yells from the kitchen, rushing into the living room. “Oh, Lyd, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lydia laughs, and then squints her eyes in pain at her aching head. Allison presses a cool rag against Lydia’s forehead, and crouches down next to her. 

“Stiles,” Allison looks up at Stiles, and he nods as if they already formed a plan. 

“Open your eyes wide,” Stiles looks down at her, clicking on a small flashlight. “And look at me.”

She looks up at him, in his eyes, and tries to stay calm. He looks directly in hers for a few moments, making her heart leap. And then he waves the flashlight in her pupils, practically blinding her. She whines for a moment before she adjusts to the brightness of the light. 

“Pretty sure she doesn’t have one,” Stiles clicks the flashlight back off and sets it on the side table, and then looks back down at her. “You’ll be fine. You just need to rest for a while - let it heal.”

“Alright,” Lydia nods up at him, and feels Allison’s worried hand on her arm. “Jeez, what are you a doctor now too?”

“I just took first aid and CPR course over the summer. They covered everything, so...yeah. I’m not an expert, but I know the basics.” He shrugs, and she clears her throat and takes the smile off of her face. God, is there anything he can’t do? It’s so annoying to be around. 

“Doing okay, Lydia?” Scott asks, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. My head hurts a little,” She smiles and measures a small bit with her fingers, and he laughs. 

“I believe it. You slammed your head on the floor so hard I was scared you broke something,” Scott laughs, shaking his glad. “I’m glad you’re okay. But hey, I’m about to head out. I have some homework to do.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Allison stands up, and they walk out. Now it’s just Stiles and Lydia alone in the living room with her head on his lap. Great.

“Hey, I...I kind of wanted to say I’m sorry. This whole thing was sort of my fault.” He laughs apologetically. 

“What do you mean?” She asks, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“I made you a little, uh...distracted.” He shrugs, and she narrows her eyes at him. 

“Really?” She pretends to think, and then sighs. “I remember you being an ass. I don’t remember you distracting me, though.”

“Don’t pretend you weren’t turned on,” He looks down at her, letting his eyes glance down at her lips for half of a second. That was long enough for her to notice. 

Usually after making one of these gross comments, he’s smirking or laughing or gently touching her arm to get a rise out of her. But now he’s just looking in her eyes, serious as ever. 

“I have no idea what you mean. I thought we were just having a simple conversation.” She looks at him, confused. He rolls his eyes and leans back against the couch, smiling as to pretend he isn’t annoyed. “Unless...It was  _ you _ who was turned on.”

“Please,” He laughs, shaking his head. He sets his hand on her thigh, making her heart thump rapidly. “It takes a little less than a bathing suit to get me going.”

“I’m sure,” She sighs sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She’s just trying to keep herself held together. “Is that why you positioned my head to be on your lap, then?”

“Is your head being on my lap the only thing you can think about?” He smirks, rubbing his thumb against her thigh. 

“Is trying to sexually frustrate me to make yourself feel better the only thing  _ you  _ can think about?” She retorts, and he looks taken aback. 

“Lydia do you wanna stay over? I’ll text your mom if you want me to.” Allison walks in, sliding her phone in her pocket. “I really don’t want you driving in this state.”

“Uh, yeah,” Lydia turns to her and smiles, forcing herself to finally sit up. “I’ll stay.”

“Great! I’ll text her.” Allison walks into the kitchen, and Stiles stands up. 

“I better go. I have some homework too.” He sighs, not looking her in the eye. She’s not sure how he’s feeling. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, Stiles,” She laughs, using the finger guns again. Those damn finger guns. “See you Monday. Or tomorrow. Whichever.”

“Mhmm, see you then. Tell Allison I said bye.” He gives a small wave, and then slips out the front door in a blink of an eye. 

The next day was what Lydia and Allison liked to call a “lazy day.” Scott checked in on Lydia for a few minutes that morning, but left soon after letting them have their “girls day.” There’s been no sign of Stiles, and Lydia can’t tell if she’s happy or sad about that. 

Lydia and Allison talk and watch movies the whole morning. Lydia has to keep an ice pack on her head because it aches pretty badly still, but she knows it’s nothing too serious, and she’s thankful for that. After all day of doing being lazy, Allison calls Scott so they can all meet at the diner for dinner.

Uh...yeah. Yeah, Lydia will do that. She won’t mind.” Allison glances over at Lydia for a second, and Lydia scoffs and uses hand gestures to ask “do what?!” Allison just turns her back to her, smiling and waving her off.

“What exactly did you just volunteer me for?” Lydia crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s not anything bad, so calm down. Stiles’ Jeep just broke down so Scott asked if one of us could pick him up. I volunteered you - I figured you’d want to. So maybe you can get some quality Stiles and Lydia time.” Allison smiles widely, looking like she just brewed up an amazing plan. 

“What?! I don’t even want to  _ see  _ him let alone  _ pick him up _ from his house and have to ride alone in the car with him!” Lydia answers, whining dramatically. “God, why does he always have to come?”

“Stop it! You’re being kind of mean,” Allison accuses, and Lydia slinks back against the counter and rolls her eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah,” She waves her off, sighing. “I’m just tired of him, like...toying with me like this. He’s being horrible.”

“I know Stiles can be a pompous asshole sometimes, but if he knew that you really like him, we both know he wouldn’t be intentionally hurting you like this. You both think each other is attractive, so he’s just trying to playfully flirt with you. I know it sucks, but at least he isn’t doing this on purpose.” Allison looks at her sympathetically, and Lydia chews on her lip. 

“I know. Ugh, I know,” Lydia pushes herself off the counter, tossing an apple in the air. She catches it once, but the second time it hits the floor with a thud. “I’m just tired.”

“I understand. And that’s okay.” Allison assures her, giving her a hug. They part after a few seconds, and Lydia breathes in and adjusts her shirt. 

“I guess I’ll see you at the diner.” She huffs, grabbing her keys off of the counter. 

“See you. Flirt back!” Allison grins, and then shuts the door before Lydia can reply. Lydia smiles like an idiot and shakes her head, before grabbing an undamaged apple and walking out the door after her. 


	44. High and Dry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty long and fluffy one!! I hope you guys like it.

“Hey, just a sec. I have to grab a shirt. You can come in and wait if you want.” He’s standing at his door wet and shirtless, with the those low-hanging sweatpants that show off his Calvin Klein boxers. He’s rubbing a towel over his wet hair, giving a half smile. 

“Yeah, I’ll...sure,” She lets out a breathy laugh, and then shakes her head, gulping. She leans against the kitchen counter and bites her lip as she watches him walk upstairs. Her hand is shaking a little, and she feels like stabbing it with a fork. 

“You can do this,” She shakes her body out, taking in a deep breath. She looks at the previously broken counter, remembering the way he pushed her body against it. It’s not broken anymore, though; it’s fixed, and there’s a tube of superglue next to it. 

“Sorry about that,” Stiles snaps her out of her reverie, and she watches him descend the stairs. He pulls the t-shirt over his abs, and then slides on a backwards baseball cap, pushing down his wet hair. 

“It’s fine,” She smiles, gripping her phone tighter in her fingers. Her knuckles are probably completely white. He leans against the kitchen island, looking over a note. He smiles for a second, and then folds the note and puts it in his pocket carefully. It must be from his dad. 

“Ready?” He turns around, and she’s breathless just looking at him.

“Almost,” She steps forward, remembering Allison’s words.  _ Flirt back!  _ She steps towards him, and looks up in his eyes. She reaches around and pulls his hat off, setting it on the counter. She runs her fingers through his hair and smiles. The only reason she’s getting through this is because she’s trying to imagine this isn’t her, this isn’t him, and this isn’t the same room that he made out with her in. “You look better with this off.”

“Well you…” He smiles smugly, and grabs the hem of her shirt between two of his fingers. He bites his lip, and his eyes ghost over her in the blink of an eye. “Look better with  _ this  _ off.”

“Shut up,” She steps back, rolling her eyes. He laughs too, reaching on the counter and then tossing a grape into his mouth. She obviously knew it was all a joke, but that doesn’t make it any less hard. “You’re good at that.”

“You’re not too bad yourself,” He knocks his arm against hers, which she has learned is his “go-to” move, just like hers is the finger guns. Except his is significantly less embarrassing, and...kind of hot, oddly enough. “Your skills have improved.”

“Is that a compliment? From Stiles?” She gasps, pressing a hand to her heart. 

“Oh come on. I’ve complimented you before; don’t pretend like you don’t remember.” He looks down at her (why is he so tall?) and shakes his head. 

“I’m...not sure what you’re talking about. I think I only remember insults.” She smiles, crossing her arms. “And lots of them.”

“Don’t act all innocent,” He narrows his eyes, crossing his arms too. “You’ve got some pretty hurtful insults up your sleeve.”

“What? What have I said?” She scoffs, smiling slightly as she waits for the answer. 

“You compared me to Jackson,” He looks down at the ground, and then back up at her. “That...actually stung a little.”

“You don’t seriously think I still believe that, right?” She replies, the atmosphere somehow more serious now. “I didn’t know you when I said that. I didn’t really mean it.”

“You didn’t?” He asks, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Of course not,” She shakes her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I mean...I obviously didn’t know you at all. I would never say that now; it isn’t true. Besides, I was being a little childish anyway. I just wanted to get at you. I really didn’t mean it, Stiles.”

“God, that’s been kind of weighing on me I guess.” He breathes out, running his hand through his hair. 

“I knew you’ve always cared more about what people think than you let on,” She tilts her head, and he sighs. 

“Everyone does, don’t they? Some just hide it better than others, is all.” He shrugs, popping another grape in his mouth. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” She nods, biting the inside of her cheek. They sit there in a comfortable silence for a moment, just standing there. “Well...we should probably go. They’re waiting for us.”

“After you,” He holds his arm out, smiling. “Chivalry isn’t dead.”

“Chivalry,” She shivers, laughing. 

“I know. I said it to make you cringe.” He pokes her side, and she jumps and laughs, whining at her tickleness. “Ooooh, you’re ticklish. I’ll remember that.” 

“I’m not. That just...scared me a little,” She shrugs and gulps, not being able to wipe the grin off of her face as she gets in her car. 

“Suuuure,” He replies, putting on his seatbelt. She tries to hide her stupid annoying smile the entire way to the diner, but it’s actually impossible. She’s glowing. 

“Finally! We haven’t ordered yet.” Allison smiles, watching Stiles and Lydia come in the diner. Allison are Scott are both sitting next to each other with knowing smiles. Lydia gives them a weird look as she slides into the booth. Stiles gets in next to her, casually throwing his arm around the seat. Either he’s not perceptive like, at all, or he’s just pretending like he doesn’t notice something weird going on with them.

“I think I’m going with the thickburger. You?” Stiles asks, closing his menu and bumping  Lydia’s arm. Now that she knows something’s up, she can’t act normal. 

“Uhhh. I’m just going to get an order of nachos. I guess.” She replies, trying to ignore the stares of Scott and Allison. It’s getting more and more difficult. 

A few minutes later they all order their food. Lydia’s sipping on her drink and staring out the window, trying to pretend like this isn’t at all awkward. 

“Hey, Lyd,” Allison stands up, brushing her hair behind her ear. Still smiling, of course. “Come to the bathroom with me?”

“Yeah,” Lydia replies, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Stiles gets out so she can get out, and she follows behind Lydia. 

As soon as they get in, Allison looks under the stalls to make sure no one is looking, before locking the door. 

“So...don’t kill me,” Allison bites her lip, and Lydia can tell that she physically is about to explode. “But I...kind of told Scott you like Stiles.”

“What?!” Lydia yells, and Allison shoves her hand over her mouth, shushing her. 

“Shut up!” Allison whispers loudly, laughing. 

“Okay, then tell me how you just ‘kind of’ slipped it to Scott that I like his best friend.” Lydia sighs loudly, gulping. 

“It wasn’t...exactly like that. Well Scott and I were just sitting at the table talking about how you went to pick Stiles up. It was just, like...a casual conversation. And then he said, and I quote: ‘Stiles and Lydia would be a good couple, don’t you think?’” Allison says, using a fake Scott voice. 

“No,” Lydia bites her lip, shaking her head. 

“Yes,” Allison grins, practically squealing. “And so I...sort of told him then. But I didn’t tell him you’re in love with him or anything - I’d never do that to you. I just told him that you...think Stiles is pretty cute. Which isn’t a lie.” 

“And what did he say?” Lydia waits anxiously, tapping her fingers against her leg.

“He just said that he thinks you guys are gonna end up dating. Just like I’ve been telling you!” Allison laughs, grabbing Lydia’s hands with excitement.

“Okay but that literally doesn't mean anything,” Lydia rolls her eyes, but can't fight the smile on her face. “Like...don't you think he would know if Stiles likes me since he's his best friend and all?”

“I know, but even if he did he probably wouldn't tell me. Like...the ‘bro code’ or whatever guys call it. So if Stiles did tell him he likes you, I'm sure he told him not to tell me. If that makes any sense at all.” Allison laughs, sighing happily. 

“Allison that's all just made up in your head. That was a completely fictional scenario.” Lydia whines and laughs, combing her fingers through her hair. 

“Stop being a downer!” Allison laughs, hugging her. “You two really are so cute together.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lydia sighs and laughs, and they pull apart. “Let's just go eat. I'm starving.”

It's all normal after that. Lydia can't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, Scott and Stiles had the same conversation that Lydia and Allison did. 

“So have you seen Jackson around much lately?” Is the first question Stiles asks when they get back in her car. 

“Umm…” Lydia sighs, backing her car up out of the parking lot. “Not that much actually. Not as much as before, obviously, but I see him around some. He...sort of pretends like I don’t exist, which I don’t particularly mind.” She laughs, glancing over at him momentarily. “Do you ever see Ashley?”

“Yeah. It...took me a while to accept what happened. She was obviously still wrong for what she did, but...she loves him. And he’s a manipulator. I feel bad for her. She’s in love with him and he’s just going to use her like he used you. I wish she’d see that.” He sighs, leaning back against the leather seat. 

“I do too.” Lydia exhales slowly, staring ahead at the stoplight. She watches it flicker green, and they drive past all of the dull orange street lights. Stiles reaches up and turns the radio dial up, letting the soft music flow through the car. 

“This is one of my favorite songs of all time,” Stiles closes his eyes and smiles, listening to the intro to  _ High and Dry  _ by Radiohead.

“Mine too.” Lydia glances over at him and smiles, and Stiles relaxes against the seat, taking in the music. It’s only a minute later when she pulls up at his house, but she doesn’t turn the car off. She puts it in park and looks over at him. He’s completely focused on the music, the feelings, the words. She smiles and shuts her own eyes, taking it all in as well. 

_ They're the ones who'll hate you _

_ When you think you've got the world all sussed out _

_ They're the ones who'll spit at you, _

_ You will be the one screaming out _

She feels Stiles’ hand on her arm, and she opens her eyes and looks over at him. She smiles and he does too, and she swallows thickly because she can feel the tension between the two of them. She can’t help but look down at his lips. The lips that she wants so badly pressed against hers, and she wants his hands in her hair, and, most importantly, she wants him to want her the way she wants him. 

His hand trails up her arm, and then ghosts across her neck until he’s cupping her face. The music somehow seems to fade out as the blood rushes to her ears, causing a ringing sound. His thumb strokes her face, and she swallows thickly and leans into it, silently telling him  _ I want this. _

Is this really going to happen? Is he actually going to kiss her right now, in his driveway, while her favorite song is playing? This is like one of those cheesy movies she’s always made fun of, but it feels so crazy and exciting right now as it’s happening to her.

“You had an eyelash,” He smiles, slowly moving his hand from her face. Wow...she totally misread that signal. The soft song ends then, and it’s replaced by  _ Poker Face  _ by Lady GaGa, which is basically the least romantic song in history. “I got it.”

“Oh thanks,” Her voice cracks a little, and she clears her throat and laughs. 

“Okay. Well I’ll see you at school tomorrow, then, Leia,” He gives a small smile, and she nods and waves as he gets out. 

“Night,” She replies, watching him unlock his front door. That was not at  _ all  _ what she wanted to happen tonight. 

 


	45. Proof

Lydia is pretty much on the very edge of death the next day. She had gotten home last night and laid there awake until almost 5 a.m. thinking about what happened. Was he really about to kiss her, or was she just being paranoid? Does he even  _ want  _ to kiss her?

The day goes by as normally as ever. They joke around and laugh, and she’s annoyed that he’s pretending none of it happened. She wonders if there even  _ is  _ something for him to pretend never happened. This is all confusing and horrible and she’s felt a nervous pit in her stomach since last night that won’t go away. 

“We should go back to our Wednesday movie nights,” Stiles says at the lunch table, sipping on his drink. “There are so many movies I want to watch.”

“Yeah, we should. I know it’s been hectic lately but everything is starting to cool down now. Stiles is right.” Allison lays her head on Scott’s shoulder, sighing. 

“Me too. I mean I agree,” Lydia shakes her head, dunking her french fry in ketchup. 

“Okay, then it’s settled. Wednesday nights are back on.” Scott smiles, and they all follow suit. Lydia can barely even keep her eyes open. 

“Hey, you alright?” Stiles asks, bumping her arm on the way out of last period. Finally she can go home. 

“I’m, uh…” She sighs, her eyelids feeling heavy. “I’m fine. A little tired.”

“A little? Come on,” He laughs, setting his hand on the small of her back as he walks. 

“Where are we going?” She asks mid yawn. 

“I’m taking you home. You shouldn’t drive like this. It’s pretty much on the same level of intoxication at this point.” He laughs, guiding her down the hall. 

“Don’t you have lacrosse practice?” She asks drowsily. 

“It won’t hurt to skip a day. I’ll tell coach I got sick or something. Besides, I don’t really want to see Jackson anyway. Man, speaking of the devil.” Stiles sighs under his breath, holding onto her tighter. She snapped her eyes open at Stiles last words, and spotted Jackson rounding the corner with his lacrosse gear. 

“Well aren’t you two just a cute couple?” Jackson smirks, sliding his phone in his pocket. “What’s wrong, Lyd? Is he boring you to death? I could have warned you about that.”

“Go the hell away, Jackson.” Lydia rolls her eyes, but Stiles stops walking, so she does too.

“Yeah, Jackson.” Stiles says deeply, but Jackson just smiles. 

“Why are you so angry, Stiles? Figured out she isn’t going to put out for you, either?” Jackson laughs, crossing his arms. “Are you two...are you even together?”

“That’s none of your b-” Stiles starts, but Lydia is so pissed off that she doesn’t even think about what she’s doing. She steps in front of Stiles, grabs his face and pulls it down to her so she can kiss him. She sighs against his soft, soft lips, and then wraps her arms around his neck. Stiles feels like a statue standing there. He’s not kissing back, his arms are limp at his sides, and she’s starting to realize how bad of an idea this probably was. 

But then, right as she’s about to pull away in regret, he tangles his hand in her hair and kisses her like he did in his kitchen. Slow, but passionate and amazing and intoxicating. His hand slides down to the small of her back, and he slips his fingers under the hem of her shirt. His warm fingers press against the skin of her back, and his thumb is rubbing small circles against it. 

“I get it,” Jackson laughs bitterly, and they hear his feet padding down the hallway. Lydia starts to pull away, but Stiles brings her back, kissing her again. 

“Wait until he fully leaves,” Stiles whispers, his hot breath against her open, panting mouth. She nods and falls back into the kiss. She savors the touch of him, the smell of him, the taste of him, knowing this is probably the last time this will happen for a while. Or ever, more likely. 

It’s only about fifteen more seconds of pure bliss before Stiles pulls away from her. Lydia can feel the swelling in her lips, as she gets off of her tiptoes and finally takes in a real breath of air. She’s so disoriented that she feels as if she’ll just topple over.

“Sorry about that,” He laughs, scratching the back of his neck. “It just took me a second to catch on to what you were doing.”

“No, don’t...don’t worry about it.” Lydia smiles like a complete idiot, seeing stars. She clasps her hands together in front of her, grinning at the ground aimlessly. “I’m just glad we got him, you know?”

“I know,” Stiles laughs, licking his lips. She wonders if he can still taste her the way she can still taste him. “He’s such an ass.”

“Yeah, he is,” Lydia pushes her lips together, purposely forcing herself not to smile. Then they wordlessly walk to the parking lot, and he insists he takes her home because she still looks “pretty out of it.” It’s for a whole different reason now though, but she still agrees to it anyway. 

“God, I really cannot believe I dated him. How dumb was I?” She scoffs, leaning her head against her passenger seat window. His Jeep is still in the shop so he rode here with Scott. But now she’s letting him drive her car home. 

“You weren’t,” He sighs, shrugging from the driver’s seat. “He’s just really great at what he does.”

“He’s so gross.” Lydia huffs, looking out the window at the passing storefronts. 

“I agree,” Stiles replies, and there’s a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride. 

“You can call Scott to come pick you up. You really don’t have to stay here.” Lydia laughs sleepily, yawning. 

“I don’t mind,” Stiles shrugs, making himself comfortable on a recliner. “Besides, I could really use a nap too.”

Lydia laughs and tosses him a blanket, before falling onto the couch. She pulls her own blanket up to her chin, and puts her arms around her pillow. She falls asleep easily and swiftly, with a smile on her face. This was probably the only good Monday in history.


	46. Goodnight

“Lydia wake up,” Stiles nudges her, and she groans and her head feels stuffy and she just wants to  _ sleep.  _ “Seriously, lazy-ass.” He laughs, setting his hand on her arm. That woke her up. 

“God, why?” She opens her eyes, wincing at the light. She sits up on her elbow, breathing in. Stiles looks down at the pillow and laughs, shaking his head. She furrows her eyebrows and looks where he’s looking, seeing a puddle of drool on the pillow. “Oh, God, I am disgusting.”

“Everyone drools,” He laughs, reaching up and rubbing his thumb right below her bottom lip to get the dried drool off her mouth. He’s looking at her lips when he does it too, and it takes everything in her not to gulp right now. “See? All gone.”

“Why did you wake me up?” She asks, fully sitting up and trying to ignore how close he is. “I’m tired.”

“We’ve been asleep for almost four hours.” He laughs, standing up. “I woke up because Scott and Allison were blowing our phones up. We forgot to tell them where we went and they were worried. I’m pretty sure they thought we were screwing.”

Lydia freezes at that. He doesn’t even think anything of it; he just laughs and grabs his phone out of his pocket. 

“Yeah, I completely forgot to let Allison know.” She breathes out a laugh, biting her lip. 

“Don’t worry, it’s all cleared up now. They wanna go eat, though. Is that okay with you?” He asks, and starts folding up the blanket he had been using. Why does he have to be so considerate? It’s annoying as hell. 

“Mhmm. I’m gonna go get changed really quick. I’ll be back in a sec.” 

“Change why? You look good already.” He shrugs, looking her up and down. Not in a perverted way, it’s more of a ‘trying to find what’s wrong’ kind of size-up. 

“Stop,” She shakes her head, laughing nervously. “I look like I just walked out of a cave I had been living in for six years.”

“Very specific, but I don’t agree.” He laughs too, sinking back into the chair and smiling up at her. “Well? If you’re going to change go do it now before Allison comes and kills me.”

“Okay, be right back,” She laughs, practically falling over on her way up the stairs. The first thing she does is calmly shut the door, and then she screams into her pillow. She cannot keep the smile off of her face and it’s embarrassing as hell. She finally composes herself and fixes her hair, and then changes into shorts and a AC/DC t-shirt. She breathes in about five times, before descending the stairs. 

“Cool shirt,” Stiles looks down at it, then up to her eyes smiling. 

“It’s actually one of my mom’s old ones. She went to a ton of their concerts when she was younger. She was a little wild at one point, if you can believe it.”

“That makes her even hotter,” He sighs, and she lightly punches his arm. 

“You think my mom is  _ hot?!”  _ Lydia gasps, but has a smile on her face that she can’t get rid of. 

“Come on, Lydia, everyone thinks your mom is hot.” He laughs, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. 

“Define ‘everyone’.” She crosses her arms, shaking her head. 

“Like...the whole lacrosse team. Why do you think all of her classes are slam-packed of people since middle school? We’d all fight for a spot in her class.” He laughs, remembering back to that time. 

“Are you kidding? I thought that was just because she accepted late work.” Lydia widens her eyes, breathing in. “Wow.”

“At least you know now,” He laughs, patting her on the back supportively. “Now let’s go.”

“God,” Lydia groans and laughs, tossing him the keys to the car again. “You have to drive again?”

“Why?” He catches the keys, walking backwards. How the hell does he not hit the wall ever? Lydia hits the wall even when she’s face-forward. “You’re not tired anymore.”

“Because I don’t want to. And I’m your ride home, so you can’t exactly refuse.” She shrugs and sighs, and a smile forms on his face. 

“Yeah? And what makes you think I couldn’t just get Scott to take me?” He narrows his eyes, crossing his arms as his back presses gently against the door. She steps forward, mirroring his movements of crossing his arms. 

“Because we both know that the second we leave them alone, they attack each other. So I’m pretty sure they’d find an excuse for me to take you anyway.” She looks in his eyes and he smiles smugly. They hold eye contact for a few beats, before she breaks it and reaches behind him to grab the doorknob. He grabs her arm, stopping her. She looks up at him, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“What?” She asks, suddenly confused as she looks up at him. He looks like he’s about to say something. He opens his mouth, about to speak, but then he closes it again. He lets go of her hand and smiles. 

“Nothing. I’m just a little...disoriented from the nap, is all.” He laughs, moving the keys in his hands. 

“Fine, weirdo.” She laughs, nudging his shoulder playfully. They leave then, and she can’t help but wonder what he was going to say. She wishes he wouldn’t have stopped himself. 

“I get to play my music if I’m driving.” He insists, signalling for her to hand over the auxiliary cord. 

“Fine,” She rolls her eyes, leaning back against the seat as she gives it to him. “Have at it.”

“Really? I didn’t think that would work, but I’ll take it.” He laughs, plugging it into his phone. He presses play after a second, and Taylor Swift’s  _ I Knew You Were Trouble  _ starts blasting through the speakers. “Shit,” He says under his breath, quickly reaching up and turning the volume all the way down. 

“Taylor Swift fan?” Lydia laughs. In fact, she’s pretty much doubled over laughing. 

“Shut up,” He runs fingers through his hair, laughing along with her. 

“I’m messing with you. I love that song.” She sits back in her seat, looking over at him as her laugh finally dies down. 

“Who doesn’t?” He laughs, sighing before turning the volume up. 

The diner is pretty much the same as always. They talk and eat, and thankfully this time Scott and Allison are acting normal. That’s a huge relief. 

As previously thought, Allison asks Lydia to take Stiles home. She wasn’t exactly expecting any different, but she’s still nervous all the same. Even after they basically spent all day together, too, which is ridiculous. 

“Your turn to drive.” He tosses her the keys, and then quickly gets in the passenger seat before she can protest. The keys hit the ground of course, so she has to go pick them up. 

“Great catch!” He laughs as she gets in the driver’s side, and cranks the vehicle. 

“Oh, shut up,” She laughs, rolling her eyes at him. They drive back in silence, which seems to be a routine now. But it isn’t awkward, and that’s refreshing. 

“See you tomorrow?” Stiles smiles at her, unbuckling his seatbelt. 

“Yeah, of course,” She nods, returning a polite smile. 

“Cool.” He nods, but doesn’t make a move to leave yet. 

“Yep. Cool.” She agrees, slowly nodding along with him. 

“Okay, well goodnight, then,” He says softly, and then he’s leaning in and kissing her forehead. Her heart feels like it’s about to jump out of her chest, as his lips linger there half of a second longer than they should have. 

“Goodnight!” She laughs nervously, as he swiftly gets out of the car, and waves at her on his way to his front door. 

Why does he have to be so confusing? He’s the master of mixed signals, but man, she’s happy she got that four hour nap, because she knows she’ll probably get little-to-no sleep again tonight. 


	47. Locker Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry for not updating, and not even giving a warning or anything. I should have, I've just been studying for finals and I totally forgot! Thank you so much to everyone that had worried about me, I assure you I'm fine!

“I’m just trying to say…” Stiles sighs, looking nervous for the first time in his entire life probably. “I like you, Lydia. And I guess I’m just trying to ask if you like me too.”

Suddenly Lydia gasps and sits up in bed. It takes her a second to realize that it was all a dream. Damn, why did she have to wake up? She groans and grabs her phone, squinting at the sudden light. It’s five am. Knowing she won’t be able to go back to sleep, she gets out of bed and goes downstairs to get water. This is going to be a long day. 

“If you wanted me to skip practice again you could’ve just asked,” She hears, and her eyes fly open in surprise. The school day went by slowly like she had anticipated, and she’s about to finally be able to go home. 

“God, you scared me,” Lydia yawns, turning to look at Stiles who is sitting beside her on the hall floor. Their backs are against the wall, and his knees are up and his elbows are propped on them casually. 

“You’re so jumpy,” He laughs, lightly punching her shoulder. “Anyway, didn’t sleep again last night?”

“Yeah, I just...I’ve been sort of restless,” She sighs, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. 

“Any particular reason?” He asks, and she looks down and shakes her head. 

“I don’t...I don’t think so,” She lies, shrugging her shoulders. “Not that I can think of.”

“Come on,” He stands up and smiles, holding his hand out. 

“Why?” She asks, but still smiles at him. 

“Just come to practice. Allison is going.” He reaches his hand out farther, and she bites her lip and looks at it for a second. “Come on.”

“I don’t know, I’m really tired…”

“Lydia, come on.” He smiles, and she knows that she won’t be able to resist saying no while he looks at her like that. “Please?”

“Ugh, fine,” She rolls her eyes playfully, and lets him pull her up to her feet. “I guess if I have to.”

“It’s that bad, huh?” He smiles at her, but real curiosity sparks in his eyes. 

“That bad,” She smiles back, gently shoving his shoulder. 

“Sureeee,” He winks at her, and turns back around and walks ahead of her. 

“Uhhh, this isn’t the way to the lacrosse field I’m pretty sure. Unless I hit my head a lot harder than I thought I did.” She laughs nervously, but he keeps walking. 

“I’m a little late,” He explains, and Lydia quickly realizes it was because of her. Was he looking for her? “So I have to get my lacrosse gear. Don’t worry; it won’t take long.”

“Okay.” She agrees, following behind him. She has to practically sprint just to keep up with his long-legged strides. 

They step into the boy's’ locker room and he cuts the lights on creating a small buzzing sound in the wires. 

“Do you think I should...be in here?” She makes a face, looking around and expecting to find some naked guy standing around the corner. 

“It’s just us; don’t worry,” He laughs, shaking his head. 

“God. It smells like boy in here,” She fake gags, and then laughs. 

“And how exactly does ‘boy’ smell?” He smiles, and then reaches his arms over his shoulders, and then pulls his shirt over his head. He tosses it in his locker, and then looks at her, waiting. But now she’s way too distracted, and she’s pretty sure he knows that. 

“Like...armpits and sweat and feet.” She shrugs, trying her best to keep her cool. 

“You’re right,” He nods and laughs, turning back to face his locker. Christ, even his armpit hair is hot. “I guess I’ve gotten numb to it. Or my sense of smell has gradually deadened over time.”

“I’m guessing the second.” She laughs, catching a glimpse of his beautiful body while he isn’t looking. Before she even realizes what he’s doing, he slips his thumbs under the waistband of his shorts, and starts sliding them down his legs. 

“Thought you were getting a strip show, huh?” He laughs, looking at her trying-not-to-look-shocked face. “Sorry, you’re a little unlucky today. I have on underwear.” 

“Pfft,” She scoffs, narrowing her eyes and laughing like she has no idea what he’s talking about. And oh my God, she just wants to look down so, so badly. “You’d consider that lucky?”

_ “You  _ would consider it lucky is what I’m saying.” He gives a smug smile, and she just wants to push him and makeout with him at the same time. He slips on shorts, but his chest is still bare, and that’s hard enough to deal with. 

“Oh, you believe that? Well all I can say is that you have your head stuck in the sand.” She sighs, faking to admire her fingernails. 

“No,” He presses his hands to the locker beside her, and she breathes in and presses her back against it. He’s right in her face, and he’s practically naked. “I don’t. I just think it’s so,  _ so  _ funny, that after all this time you still can’t admit you’re attracted to me.”

“Oh, and I’m just supposed to be attracted to you?” She retorts, laughing awkwardly. “So if I say I’m not, I’m just lying right?”

“Yes,” He whispers lowly, sending chills across her skin as his lips touch her ear. “You are.”

“And how do you know that?” She asks, her voice cracking slightly as she gulps. He pulls back slightly and looks at her, brushing a curl behind her ear slowly. Then he runs his thumb across her bottom lip, and looks down at it. 

“Because,” He murmurs, glancing up at her eyes. He’s going to kiss her. “Your face gives it away.” 

Oh God. He’s leaning forward, and his eyes are darting between her eyes and her mouth and she can’t wait to kiss him again. She embraces it and relaxes, putting her arms around him and closing her eyes. She can feel his hot breath against her own mouth, and right before they touch they, of course, get rudely interrupted. 

“Stiles! Hurry up!” Someone yells from the doorway, making Lydia jump. Stiles doesn’t even flinch. He sighs heavily and lays in forehead on her shoulder, annoyed. 

“I’m coming!” He yells back, and then pulls away from Lydia altogether. He grabs a few things from his locker and closes it, before turning to Lydia and smiling. 

“Walk with me?” He laughs, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, I’ll come,” She smiles and gulps, wondering for the millionth time where this leaves them. Soon, if he doesn’t, she’s the one that’s going to have to make the move.


	48. The Game

“So what did we decide to watch again?” Stiles asks, plopping down beside Lydia on the couch with his arm wrapped around a popcorn bowl. He doesn’t take his eyes away from the movie as he hands Lydia a Sprite from his other hand. 

Wednesday night movies are officially back on.

“Thanks,” She mutters, but knows he’s too busy trying to figure out the movie just from the opening credits to hear her. “And, uh, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Please tell me you've seen this.”

“Lydia, do you really think I've had all of this time to watch these movies?” He looks over at her, tossing a few pieces of popcorn in his mouth. Somehow he even did that elegantly. 

“You need to make time,” She laughs, rolling her eyes and digging her hand in the Star Wars themed popcorn bowl. “These are the movies that you have to watch before you die. Pretty sure that’s like a life rule somewhere.”

Allison breaks out in laughter on the other couch, interrupting Stiles and Lydia’s conversation. 

“Sorry,” She laughs, turning back to Scott and waving them off. She was laughing at something Scott told her. 

“Life rule?” Stiles carries on the conversation, turning back to Lydia. 

“Yeah. You know, ‘life rules’. Like...you have to watch Star Wars. You have to...make a wish in a wishing well at least once in your life, even if you don’t believe in that stuff. You have to go camping. It’s just like...stuff everyone has to do. Nothing special, really, just...you know.” She shrugs, knowing she didn’t explain it expertly, but hoping she got her point across. 

“I didn’t know camping classified into ‘stuff everyone has to do’.” Stiles laughs, furrowing his eyebrows slightly. 

“Oh, come on,” Lydia turns fully to him, tucking her feet under herself to get comfortable. “S’mores, tents, telling ghost stories around the campfire, stargazing. That’s stuff that literally everyone has to do in their lifetime.”

“Or...what?” Stiles bites his lip a little, smiling sheepishly. 

“Wait a second,” Lydia furrows her eyebrows, crossing her arms. “Stiles. Please tell me you’ve gone camping before.”

“Uhhh, sure. If you want me to lie, then yes. I’ve gone camping before.” He smiles, shrugging. 

“Nooooo, oh my God!” Lydia whines dramatically, covering her face. “This is unacceptable.”

“I’ve never really had the chance. Plus, I’m not that much of an outdoorsy kinda guy. It’s not really my scene.” He admits, laughing at her seriousness on the matter. 

“You’re a lacrosse player,” She says flatly, and remembers all of the times that she and Allison used to camp out in each other's backyards on alternating weekends. 

“That’s about the extent of my wildlife side. And that’s just in a field in the school’s property,” He laughs again, pushing his hair back. 

“Okay, I’ll admit I’m not much of an outside person either,” She explains, earning a sarcastic ‘nooo, really?’ from Stiles. “Shut up. But anyway, we have to go camping.”

“Camping? Who’s going camping?” Allison asks, actually speaking to them this time. 

“Stiles has never gone.” Lydia tells her, and Allison gasps loudly and covers her mouth with her hand. 

“God, okay, you're both acting like I killed someone.” Stiles shakes his head, unable to wipe the boyish grin off of his face. 

“You might as well have!” Lydia replies, exasperated. “Okay, that might be a small...exaggeration, but still. This is serious.”

“Well, let’s go then. This weekend.” Scott suggests, smiling like always. 

“This weekend...as in...two days from now?” Lydia looks at him, trying not to get her hopes up. She. Loves. Camping. 

“Yeah, Scott, as in two days from now? You know we have a lacrosse game on Friday, right? The one we’ve been practicing our asses off for?” Stiles laughs, but looks a little worried that Scott isn’t taking it as seriously as he is. 

“I know, Stiles,” Scott laughs, patting his hand on his back for comfort. “We can just have our stuff packed and go straight afterwards.”

“Are our parents even going to...you know...let us do this?” Allison laughs, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

“Just do the famous ‘I’m at [insert friend’s name]’s house’. It works every single time. Stiles and Scott can do the same.” Lydia shrugs, proud of her plan. 

“Evil,” Stiles smiles, rubbing his hands together. “I like it.”

“It’s not like we’re going to be doing drugs or anything. After those animal attacks they’ll just worry about our safety. I get it, but I know they wouldn’t let us go, so I think Lydia’s right with the plan.” Scott agrees, and Allison does too. 

“Okay then.” Lydia breathes in, excited. “Friday. I guess we can all just leave our cars at school so our parents won’t get suspicious about them being at each other’s houses.”

“We need to make a list of things to bring. That’s really important since we’re staying all weekend.” Allison suggests, and they all nod in agreement. 

“Does anyone know a good campground to go to? I kind of just got here, so I’m not sure.” Scott smiles, and Allison laughs. 

“Yeah. Waterfall Break. That’s me and Lydia’s favorite.” Allison bumps her arm, smiling. “It has great hiking spots. A waterfall too, of course, and you can swing off a rope into the lake. It’s so pretty.”

“Ahh, man. That sounds so fun. I’m excited.” Scott laughs, and so does Stiles. 

“Yeah. Let’s write down a list of things right now.” Stiles opens the notes app on his phone, and waits for suggestions. 

“Okay…” Allison starts off, thinking. “Sleeping bags, tents, fire starters, food, lanterns, blankets, pillows…”

They spend the next half hour writing more things down, until they think they finally managed it all. Or most of it, at least. Stiles sends the list in a new groupchat, and they’re all so excited they can barely breathe. Camping will be so fun. 

Then Lydia starts to think about what exactly could happen on this trip. Most likely Allison and Scott will be sharing a tent, so won’t that mean Lydia and Stiles will have to share one? And then that will lead to long talks, whispers, maybe kissing, if she’s lucky. This is going to be perfect. 

“I’m kind of worried about this lacrosse game,” Stiles whispers to Lydia during the movie, and she turns to him, leaning her head against the couch cushion. 

“What do you mean? You guys are good.” Lydia assures him, taking his whispering as a sign that he wanted her to whisper too. 

“It just seems like everyone has been distracted lately. Scott, Jackson, a few other guys...even myself. I don’t know, I’ve not exactly been myself the past few weeks.” He sighs, and she knows it’s hard for him to let his guard down this way. She’s happy she’s the one he’s comfortable enough showing it to.

“You’ll be fine, Stiles. You’ll win, and then we’ll go camping, and it won’t matter. Your self worth isn’t whether you win a lacrosse game or not, you know? Don’t be so hard on yourself.” She looks in his eyes, gets nervous, and then looks down. 

“I know that I just...stuff has been hard lately. With...money. My dad works all the time and we can barely even survive off of it. I just guess winning that lacrosse game is a bigger meaning than just a lacrosse game, you know? Maybe I’m trying to prove something to myself. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but...I feel like I have to win. Is that stupid?”

“No. Come on, Stiles, it’s not stupid. I get it. But I just don’t want you being upset with yourself if you don’t win. Besides, you even said some of the guys have been off their game lately. That’s not your fault.” She smiles weakly at him, gently touching his arm for comfort. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I know. Thanks.” He sets his hand on top of hers, making eye contact. She looks back into his eyes too, until she gets nervous and clears her throat, turning back to the movie. 

“No problem,” She shrugs, nodding. 

How did she think she would ever be able to make a move when she can’t even look him in the eyes?

The days passed uneventfully, but they were all too excited about camping to care about how boring class was. When Friday morning came, with Lydia’s stuff all packed and under her bed, it was the first time that she rolled out of bed  _ before  _ her alarm clock even went off. She’s just that happy. 

Class went by slow as always, but in first period, Stiles turned around and winked at her to show that he’s excited. That was enough to make her smile happily throughout the rest of the day. 

After last class, Allison and Lydia had already set out a plan on what to do. They both drove to the lacrosse field, then Lydia left her car there and got in with Allison. They still had time before the game started, so they went to both of their houses and picked up their bags. 

“God. I know I’m forgetting something.” Lydia puffed out air to blow away the strand of hair in her face so she could carry her eight-hundred-pound bags to the door. Finally she gives up and collapses on them to give herself a rest. 

“Condoms? Don’t worry, I’m sure Stiles has some,” Allison shrugs with a small smile, and then bites into the apple. 

“Shut up!” Lydia laughs, shaking her head and covering her face. 

“Well you two will be sharing a tent. Camping is romantic, you know? He won’t be able to resist finally making a move. Well, a more  _ obvious _ move.” She laughs, sighing. 

“God, I hope so. I’m tired of all of these...mixed signals. It’s completely confusing. The problem is that I feel like he’s definitely confident enough to just outright  _ tell  _ me if he likes me. That’s why I think he doesn’t, I guess, among many other reasons.” Lydia falls back against her luggage, sighing loudly. 

“Guys are idiots.” Allison sighs, and then walks over to help Lydia up. 

“Agreed.”

About fifteen minutes later they’re in the parking lot piling up their (and the guys’) bags into the back of Allison’s car for after the game. It’s a little chilly outside so Lydia throws on a hoodie, and then her and Allison make their way to the bleachers. Lydia and Allison sit there and talk about how fun it’s all going to be while they wait for the game to start. 

About fifteen minutes later, the crowd starts to cheer as Beacon Hills High lacrosse team starts making their way out onto the field. Lydia spots Stiles, and wonders how he’s doing. She had forgotten to tell him good luck. Lydia and Allison cheer along with the rest of the group of people, and then everyone finally gets settled. 

Lydia watches as Scott whispers something to Stiles, and then points in their general direction. Lydia pushes her lips together as Stiles’ eyes finally lock with hers, and he smiles and waves. She waves back, and then gives him two thumbs up. He laughs and looks at her for a second, before finally turning. She knows he’s nervous, and wishes she could make him feel better. She hopes she has, even if it’s only a little. 

They win of course. Even though Stiles had been worried about the fact that some of the guys didn’t have their ‘head in the game,’ their teams are one of the best. Lydia didn’t doubt them for a second. 

Lydia can see her own breath as she laughs and cheers as Stiles makes the winning goal. As always. Lydia’s grinning the whole time as Allison grabs her hand and pulls her down the bleachers, onto the field. Her ears are still ringing from the loud cheers and chants, and her adrenaline is pumping wildly in her veins. 

Allison runs up to a sweaty Scott and hugs him. They’re both smiling as he twirls her around, laughing. Lydia smiles and then looks around, discreetly trying to search for Stiles. She spots him soon after, and he has the biggest smile on his face. He’s so happy. 

“You won!” Lydia holds her arms out to give him a hug, and he approaches. He wraps his long arms around her back, and she can feel the vibration of his laughs against her chest. She’s happy that he’s happy. 

“Thanks for everything,” He leans in and speaks into her ear, and she bites her lip and grips his shirt in her fingers. He pulls back then, hesitates a second with a small smile on his face, and then kisses her. With their lips still attached, he rips off his gloves and lets them fall onto the field. Then he tangles his fingers in her hair, kissing her even deeper, right in front of everyone. 


	49. Preparations

“W-what was that for?” Lydia asks, as Stiles pulls away. He’s still smiling, and she feels like her legs are about to give out. She has to hold onto the bar behind her so she doesn’t actually fall over. 

“I guess it’s a thank you,” He laughs, sliding his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. “I don’t think I could have done it without what you said to me the other day.”

“So you...kissed me?” She asks, gulping. She’s still a little...out of it. That makes it a bit harder to mask her confusion.

“Sorry, that was sort of a heat of the moment kind of thing. I promise I’ll actually repay you soon. Like...I’ll buy you a cake or something.” He smiles, patting her on the shoulder. Really? A pat on the shoulder?

“A cake?” She forces a laugh, gulping.

“Yeah, that was just off of the top of my head,” He clears his throat and laughs, still having to raise his voice over the loud noises of the crowd. “But...sorry I kissed you. It was really impulsive. I was just so happy and a hug didn’t seem like enough, so…”

“Oh,” Lydia laughs, trying to make it sound real. “It’s fine, I just...wasn’t expecting it, is all.”

He opens his mouth to say something, but his teammates are all suddenly around, laughing and yelling and hugging him. His attention is quickly turned to them, and then he’s gone. 

Lydia stands there, not sure what to do. It isn't long before Allison and Scott find her, smiling and laughing and kissing happily. 

“Lydia! Are you ready to go camping?” Allison asks, biting her lip.

“More than ready,” Lydia laughs, squeezing Allison’s arm. She guesses Allison was probably one of the only people at Beacon Hills High that  _ didn't  _ just see her and Stiles kiss.

“Great,” Scott smiles, hugging Allison’s side. “Where's Stiles? We should go before it gets too late.”

“I'll go find him,” Scott laughs, sprinting into the crowd. 

“They'll probably have to take showers but it won't take long. I don't exactly want to drive an hour upstate with them smelling like sweat in the car, so I think it's worth the wait.”

“He kissed me.” Lydia gulps, looking down at her feet. 

“Um...what?” Allison practically chokes, suddenly confused. 

“Stiles kissed me,” She looks up at her, breathing in. “Just, like, two seconds before you guys walked up.”

“What?! God, and I thought this night couldn't get better.” Allison laughs, hugging Lydia.

“But he shook it off like it was nothing. He just thanked me for giving him a pep talk. Like…it meant nothing to him.” Lydia swallows thickly, trying to breathe.

“Lydia. I know he may have played it off that way, but trust me; if he didn't  _ want  _ to kiss you, he wouldn't have. He wants to kiss you just like you want to kiss him. Yeah, maybe he's scared, but that just means time. And a romantic camping trip is the perfect fit for that.” Allison assures her, giving a hopeful smile.

“You think so?” Lydia bites her lip, smiling.

“I  _ know  _ so.” Allison laughs, giving her another hug. “God, he kissed you, Lydia. Right in front of everyone.” 

“I know.” Lydia practically squealed, suddenly jittery and excited. Did that really just happen?

“I realize you’re having doubts about all of this; that’s...pretty normal, I think. But you’re convinced this is all one-sided; that  _ you  _ like  _ him  _ but  _ he  _ doesn’t like  _ you.  _ Well, you guys have kissed what...four times now? And it’s been him initiating it every one of those. That should tell you something.” Allison shrugs, grinning.

_ “Five times,  _ actually, but I initiated the one time. To prove to Jackson something that I can’t even remember.” Lydia sighs, remembering each one of those kisses. The hospital, their first kiss. Stiles’ kitchen, where she wasn’t sure how far they would’ve gone if his dad wouldn’t have interrupted. Then when he showed up at her doorstep drunk, and he pulled her to him. And then the one to prove to Jackson they were together, and she's not even sure why. Then...tonight. It wasn't to save her from a panic attack, or prove a point, or because Stiles needed comfort, or to try and convince someone it was real. No, this time was different. He kissed her because he was happy and excited. And it makes her feel good that him being happy and excited was what lead to his thought process that made him kiss her.

That was something that made her smile, and not be able to  _ stop  _ smiling. 

“Even better,” Allison grins, and that's when Stiles and Scott runs up. 

“I'm so ready,” Scott smiles, throwing his arm around Allison lovingly. “We’re about to go shower and get dressed. You guys can just come inside and wait if you want.”

“Alright, let's go,” Allison agrees, holding his hand and walking ahead. Lydia and Stiles follow close behind, and everyone still has excessive amounts of adrenaline. 

“Congrats, by the way. On the win, I mean. I don't think I told you earlier.” Lydia laughs nervously, only being able to picture their kiss when she looks at him. 

“I didn't exactly give you much of a chance to,” He laughs, smiling playfully at her. “Sorry again about that.”

“It's fine,” She laughs and gulps, as they push through the doors of the school. “You're a good kisser, so I don't really...mind all that much.”

“Yeah?” He smiles his charming smile, surprised a little at her boldness. “You're not bad yourself. See you in a few.”

“Okay,” Lydia laughs dumbly, smiling like a complete and total idiot. She hopes it isn’t obvious. “See ya.”

“God, you two are crushing hard,” Allison whispers to Lydia, laughing and pulling her through the dark hallways.

“How are you and Scott?” Lydia ignores Allison’s comment as they slip into an empty classroom. 

“We are...great,” A grin erupts on her face immediately following the word ‘Scott’. “I’m so happy.”

“That’s so good,” Lydia smiles, propping her chin on her fist. “I can tell how happy you are. And how happy  _ he  _ is, too.”

“It doesn’t even feel real,” She keeps a constant smile on her face, which makes Lydia smile, too. 

“Have you guys...said it yet?” Lydia inquires, lowering her voice even though no one’s around. Allison didn’t even have to ask, because she already knew Lydia meant “I love you.”

“Not yet. But I think I’m going to tell him on this trip. It feels right, you know?” She beams, sighing up at the ceiling. “And I do. I...love him.”

“I know you do,” Lydia sighs and laughs, patting Allison on the back supportively. 

“And the sex is great,” Allison says suddenly, and Lydia grins and opens her mouth in surprise. “Like.. _.so  _ great.” 

“Tell me,” Lydia says excitedly, and Allison practically squeals. They haven’t had girl talk like this in a good while. 

“Okay, so he wasn’t exactly sure what to do at first. Girls are more...complicated, when guys really can just be  _ looked  _ at the right way and practically orgasm in their pants. Well, with a little guidance, Scott finally figured it out. God, we’ve just been having so much fun, and we do it every chance we get.”

“Yeah, we’ve noticed,” Lydia laughs, leaning her head back against a desk. “I’m ready to get going. I love vacation.”

“Meee toooo,” Allison sighs in unison, and they sit there in silence for a little while. She misses hanging out with just Allison sometimes. “Oh, there they are. Let’s go.”

Lydia looks up just in time to see Scott and Stiles pass the doorway of the classroom they’re in. They both get up and go to Stiles and Scott, not being able to wipe away the excited grins on their faces. 

“Who the hell’s ready to go camping?” Stiles grins, and they all start cheering and laughing as they practically sprint to the car. 

They toss all of their extra stuff into the trunk of the car, and all get settled in. Stiles is driving, Lydia’s in the passenger side, and Allison and Scott are in the backseat. 

And then they’re on their way. 


	50. Traveling

“Can we open that bag of cheetos? It’s only fifteen minutes in and I’m starving.” Stiles laughs, glancing over at Lydia. 

“Mhmm,” Lydia digs through the snack bag residing beside her foot, and hands him the cheetos. They’ve all just been talking and laughing and eating and having so much fun that Lydia doesn’t want this car ride to end. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” He looks over at her, smiling as he looks in her eyes. Then he turns back to the road, and digs his hand into the bag of cheetos. She wants to punch him for being able to make her feel this way, but he’s  _ just so hot  _ and  _ charming  _ that she can’t even begin to be mad at him. 

“No problem,” She replies, smiling back at him. She can’t look away from him though; she watches him drive. She watches his eyes narrow and widen as he looks at the road, and admires the way his thumb taps against the steering wheel to the beat of the music. 

“So why are you so obsessed with me going camping anyway?” Stiles asks, taking a gulp of his drink and then sets it back down in the cup holder. “Trying to find an excuse to have to cuddle naked with me in the cold weather? Because you didn't have to do all of this; you could've just asked. I would have been more than willing if you said please.”

“Ha ha,” She rolls her eyes, laughing. “But seriously, though. Haven't you ever wanted to camp? It’s so fun. You’ll see, and you’ll thank me.”

“Hmmm, I hope so,” He still has that charming smile plastered on his beautiful face. 

“What, you don’t believe me?” She gasps, feigning hurt feelings. He still glances over to make sure it really was fake though, and that he hadn’t really hurt her feelings. He smiles when he realizes she was joking.

“It’s not that I don’t  _ believe  _ you, really, it’s just that...I don’t know, I can’t understand how being outside in the cold with bugs everywhere is going to be fun. Oh, and no showers.” He visibly shivers a little just thinking about it. 

“Okay, but when you look past that fact, it’s fun the rest of the way. And there’s a lake nearby anyway, so just take a bath there.” She shrugs, turning to look out the window. 

“Hmm, I’d bet you’d just  _ love  _ that wouldn’t you, Lydia?” He jokes, and she sighs and turns to him. 

“You’re a real jackass, you know that?” She gently pushes his shoulder, and he smiles and laughs. 

“A jackass that  _ you  _ find hot, though.” He looks over and gives a smug smile, like he already knows the answer. She blushes at that, and is suddenly very,  _ very  _ thankful that it’s dark in the car right now, and Allison and Scott are making out in the backseat so they don’t hear this embarrassing conversation.

“You wish,” She retorts, playing it off like it was nothing. 

“Come on,” He groans and sighs, leaning back in his seat. “You’re still trying to deny that? It’s obvious by now, Lyd.”

“Obvious? Wow, Stiles, you really want me to find you hot, don’t you? You’ve asked me what...ten times now? That must really be on your mind.” She sighs, and he huffs and laughs like it doesn’t matter. 

“Ohhh, you would love if that’s all I thought about, wouldn’t you? But no, sorry. I just find it really funny that you can’t admit if you think I’m sexually attractive or not. It’s not even a big deal.” He shakes his head, smiling slightly. “I just think it’s cute, is all.”

She does a double-take when he says that. Did he just call her...cute? He had called her hot before, at the waterpark, but she thought it had just been a joke to make her blush or something. Had he actually been serious?

“You think it’s...cute that I can’t admit you’re hot? How is that cute?” She laughs, but gulps as well. 

“It just is.” He smiles, digging his hand in the chip bag. “What? You’ve been told you’re cute before, haven’t you?”

“Shut up,” She laughs, waving him off with embarrassment. 

“You have.” He looks at her, open-mouthed. “You haven’t?!” 

“What? No! Not really.” She gulps, covering her face with her hands. “Don’t act surprised.”

“I’m not acting! I can’t believe that.” He scoffs, running his fingers through his hair. “Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything, yeah?”

“Um, yeah,” She lets out a breathy laugh, biting her lip. “I guess so.”

The rest of the trip was just about the same. For the last like 15 minutes though, Allison and Scott joined into the conversation and they were so excited that it radiated off of them. 

They finally pulled up at the campsite, and they all got out of the car, stretching their legs out. It’s pitch black.

“Uhhhh,” Scott said, and literally already knows what he’s going to say. “Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for us to come at night. We can’t set up the tent or anything. We can’t even find a spot to  _ put  _ our stuff; it’s way too dark.”

“I know,” Allison sighs, and they hear the bugs already, which makes Lydia’s skin crawl. “Maybe we should just stay in the car for tonight…? I think that’s our best option.”

“I think so too,” Lydia agrees, letting out a long breath. 

“We can get an early start in the morning,” Scott nods, laughing and scratching the back of his neck. “I guess we should have thought ahead.”

“I agree,” Lydia laughs, and they all climb back in the car. “Allison can you hand me my pillow? I think it’s behind t- yeah. Thanks.”

“Shit, this car is suddenly very small,” Stiles laughs, leaning his seat back. She can’t even  _ see  _ him - she can just hear the noise. She laughs and fluffs her pillow, and then leans her seat back as well. Not as much, though, since Allison and Scott’s heads are on her side of the backseat. 

“I know,” Allison complains, and they all burst out in laughter. 

“Hey, at least we don’t have cold food in the back. That’s a good thing.” Scott says, always being the one to look on the bright side. 

“Yeah, I’m actually...very glad for that right now. It would all be ruined by morning.” Lydia laughs, trying to think of other things other than the fact that her neck is bound to have a crick in it by morning time. 

“I already know I’m not getting any sleep.” Stiles huffs from the other side, and cracks the window a little because it’s already getting a little stuffy with all of their hot breaths fogging up the windows. “And damn, I wish I had a blanket right now. It’s cold as shit up here.”

“Me too,” Lydia shivers, wrapping her arms around her knees. 

“Just a sec,” Stiles opens the car door, pops the trunk, and they can hear him moving things around in the trunk. A few minutes later he gets back in, and throws a blanket in the backseat, and another over Lydia. He’s sharing with her. “Is that okay?”

“Yes.” She immediately sinks against it, clutching it for warmth. God, it smells like him. “Thanks, Stiles.”

“Thanks, man.” Scott says, obviously just as happy to have at least a  _ small  _ sense of warmth. 

Lydia’s thankful that the blanket is large enough to fit over the both of them. Although she does feel Stiles inch a little closer, allowing himself to have more on his side. She hears him give out a long sigh, and she turns and looks out the window. It’s too dark to see anything, really, but this is peaceful. She knows she won’t be able to fall asleep very quickly since it’s only almost eleven, but it’s nice to be able to just sit here and enjoy the peace. 

“Please no sex while we’re in here.” Stiles groans, hearing Scott and Allison kiss in the backseat. 

“No sex,” Allison laughs, a little breathless. Lydia and Stiles groan again in unison. “Promise.”

“Do you think we’d really do that?” Scott laughs, probably a little embarrassed. 

“Yeah, probably,” Lydia whines, and Stiles laughs. 

“Goodnight,” Allison laughs, and they all say it back. This night is going to be absolute hell. 


	51. Adjusted

Lydia, as anticipated, wakes up with a crick in her neck. The bright sun is shining in her eyes too, so she groans and turns. There’s about an inch of space she can move, and the seat is...not the seat. It’s hard and muscle-y like...Stiles. Her eyes fly open, and sure enough, Stiles is lying next to her. She vaguely remembers waking up in the night and Stiles moving the console. She doesn’t exactly remember  _ this  _ happening, though. 

They’re lying horizontally against the two front seats. Their heads are on a pillow against the side of the passenger door, and Stiles’ long legs are bunched up and pressed against the driver’s side door. His right arm is under her, and his left arm is splayed across his chest. Her face is about two inches from the dashboard. This car really is tiny. 

She tries to breathe, but when she turns slightly she can see his lips, and that reminds her of when he kissed her yesterday. His arm curls around her in his sleep, pulling her closer, but it’s so surprising that she freaks out. She tries to twist a little and sit up, but she ends up accidentally slamming her foot into the steering wheel. And...accidentally honking the horn. 

“Shit,” She whispers to herself, but the damage has already been done. She’s definitely already awoken everyone in the car, and probably every other camper in a twenty-mile radius. 

“Oh, it’s just you,” Stiles sits up, his eyes still half-shut. He lets himself relax back against the pillow, sighing. Scott and Allison are groaning from the backseat, and Lydia sits up.

“Sorry. That was...definitely an accident.” Lydia sighs, almost falling off the seat. She sets her hand on the dashboard, and hoists herself up.

“It's okay.” Stiles smiles, stretching. Well, as much as he  _ can  _ stretch in this tiny car. “Mmm, what time is it?”

“It's only six,” Allison muffles a whine against Scott’s shirt. “Barely even six, at that.”

“Let's go back to sleep,” Lydia sighs, laying her head on her hands. 

“No, we need to go set up camp. The earlier the better; we’ll have more time that way.” Stiles sits up fully, and runs his fingers through his hair. 

“Booooo!” Lydia complains, burying her face back in the pillow. It smells like Stiles. “I’m tired.”

“We’re on vacation! Get up!” Scott says from the backseat, and Lydia and Allison don’t budge. 

“Fine,” Stiles sighs, smiling over at Scott. He and Scott hurriedly get out of the car, and take off running. 

“Oh my God, stop!” Lydia gets up so quickly that she hits her head on the top of the car, and groans. 

“Come on! They’re leaving us,” Allison grabs her hand, pulling her out the door. Scott and Stiles are running through the woods, laughing. “Stop, we’re up!” Allison complains, and Lydia’s already running out of breath. 

“PLEASE stop,” Lydia heaves out a sigh, clutching at her side. 

“Fine,” They can hear Stiles ahead, and not long after Stiles and Scott are back and laughing. “About time.”

“Shut up. I’m sleepy. I didn’t get a ton of sleep last night,” She’s still breathing heavily as they have to walk  _ back  _ to the car. 

“Really? Damn, I slept like a rock. When I moved by you, at least. It wasn’t very comfortable the other way.” He tucks his hair behind his ear, not even the least bit breathless from running from them. 

“I don’t even, uh, remember you like...laying by me or anything.” She shrugs, trying to act nonchalant. 

“You don’t?” He actually turns to look at her, furrowing his eyebrows. “I mean you kind of told me to. I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“Oh, really?” She gulps, biting her lip with embarrassment. “I don’t really remember. At all.”

“Sorry. I mean, that must have been weird waking up this morning. I swear I’m not lying.” He puts his hands up, smiling as they finally reach the car. 

“I believe you,” She laughs, shaking her head. 

“Woohoo! We’re camping!” Scott yells, and Allison kisses him. Stiles and Lydia look at each other and laugh. Everyone is feeling good right now. 

“Okay, I...think...the water is this way. So let’s find a good spot close to it.” Allison looks down at the map she printed out yesterday, and leads the way. Their arms are all completely full with bags and pillows and food and drinks, and while Lydia is about to keel over, Stiles is carrying about two times the amount of things she is and not even breaking a sweat. So she sucks it up and doesn’t complain. 

“This spot looks good. I can even see the water I think.” Stiles turns around and smiles at them, waiting for confirmation. 

“Yeah, this looks good! It even has a kind of cleared out spot where we can set up our tents.” Allison says, letting out a heavy breath as she sets her stuff down. 

“Can we go swim now?” Stiles asks, eyes pleading. 

“No, we really need to set up our stuff first. We’ll regret it if we don’t.” Scott pats a sad Stiles’ back, and Stiles sighs. 

“Fineee, let’s get this over with.” Stiles laughs, crossing his arms. “How are we going to do this?”

“Me and Allison will setup tents. You two can get the lanterns and chairs and food together. Oh, and firewood too.” Scott smiles, and then scavenges for the bags of tents. 

“Let’s do this,” Stiles looks at Lydia, and she sighs and smiles, shrugging. 

First they get the food - well, the cooler - and put all of the food and drinks in it. Then they set up the foldable chairs, leaving an opening in the middle where a fire pit can be placed. 

“We’re gonna go grab the firewood,” Stiles wipes the sweat off of his forehead, despite the crisp morning weather. 

“Okay, these should, uh, be up by the time you guys get back. And then we can go swimming,” Scott tells them, laughing. Stiles nods and sets his hand on the curve of Lydia’s back, guiding her into the woods. 

“Ever gotten firewood before?” Lydia asks, scratching her neck cluelessly. 

“No, but I was in boy scouts so I think I remember a few tricks,” He laughs, holding a branch back so she can step through. “What, the big camper hasn’t gotten firewood before?”

“Well...not really,” She shrugs, laughing. “We would always come with Allison’s family and they’re like...huge nature people. So they took over the work while Allison and I did the fun stuff.”

“Ohh, so you have some kind of false sense of what camping’s like, then.” He shakes his head, examining sticks on the ground. 

“Not...not exactly. And shut up.” She laughs, standing there while he gathers sticks in his arms. 

“Make me,” He looks at her, lifting an eyebrow like it’s a dare. She just shakes her head and laughs it off. 

“So do you need help?” She asks, biting her lip and breathing in deeply. 

They get as much firewood as they can, and head back to the camp site. The tents are already set up as promised by Scott, and that gets Lydia excited and ready to do this. 

“Gross,” Stiles shakes his head, as they can hear Scott and Allison rolling around and laughing in one of the tents. 

“Come on,” Lydia whispers with a grin, tying her hair up. She bites her lip and looks at Stiles, and then takes off running. Stiles stays back a second, but that’s as long as it takes for him to realize what she’s doing. A smile breaks out on his face, and he’s already running to catch up to her.

“See you at the lake!” Lydia yells to Scott and Allison, but her and Stiles are already pushing through the bushes to see the glimmering water. 


	52. Back Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So...I'm not sure if anyone would still want me to do this, but I'm going to finish this story! I've been writing a little again, so I'm just going to keep posting whether or not anyone even reads! Thank you all for your CONTINUOUS support! This chapter is just going to pick up where the other one left off :)

“Stop being a baby,” Stiles grins, looking over at a terrified Lydia. “Let’s jump.”

“I’m just...what if there’s, like, alligators? Or snakes? God, Stiles, no way I’m doing this.” Lydia shakes her head, biting her lip.

“They’ll be here any second, Lyd.” Stiles complains, shaking his head as he peels his shirt off. She forces her eyes ahead, trying as hard as she can to not watch him. He kicks his shoes off, and then looks at her.

“Take your clothes off.”

“I don’t have my bathing suit on!” She crosses her arms, knitting her eyebrows together with worry.

“A bra and underwear is the same thing!” He whines, putting his hand on her arm. “Be spontaneous.”

“Oh God,” She breathes in, hesitating a second. “Fine. Fine, I’ll do it.” She gulps, shaking her head, before pulling her shirt off. She tosses it on the dock, and feels his eyes boring into her as she kicks her own shoes off. Then she pulls off her sweatpants, and turns to him. She’s so glad that she wore her good underwear and bra so she didn’t look like a granny in their sudden spontaneity. “It’s kind of cold.”

“Come on.” He smiles, reaching his hand out. She looks at it with fear, and then looks over at the rippling water. “You’re the one who wanted to go camping so badly. So let’s do it right.”

“I’m gonna regret this,” She looks at him, shaking her head as she grabs his hand.

“No, you won't,” He gives a charming smile, gripping her hand tighter. “On three.” She nods and breathes in, and he counts down. “Three, two, one!” He yells, and they take off running down the dock. She squeezes her eyes shut, as the wood runs out under her feet, and she's forced to jump. She screams out, until she falls into the water.

“Holy shit! Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, it's cold!” Lydia yells, emerging through the surface of the water. It feels like millions of needles are stabbing into her skin and numbing it.

“Oh God, I was not expecting that,” Stiles’ teeth chatter, and he pulls Lydia back to the dock.

“Move! We’re coming in,” Allison laughs, as her and Scott start pulling their clothes off.

“No! No, don't,” Lydia breathes out, and Stiles helps push her up onto the dock. “It's way too cold. Oh God.” She stands up, clutching at her arms. “It’s w-w-way too cold.”

“Oh, Lydia, are you okay?” Allison grabs a towel, and Lydia turns around to see if Stiles is okay. His eyes are staring at her ass, but as soon as he sees her turn around they look up to her eyes. Lydia couldn’t blush even if she wanted to right now - she’s way too cold.

“Here,” Allison sighs, putting a big towel around Lydia’s shaking shoulders. Then she hands one to Stiles, and starts rubbing Lydia’s arms through the towel. “Come on, let’s get back to camp and start a fire to get you warmed up.”

Scott’s behind them, doing the same thing with Stiles. Allison gathers up all of their clothes on their way back to camp, and when they get there, Lydia and Stiles sit down in the fold out chairs, while Allison and Scott start the fire.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Stiles shivers, leaning his head back against the chair.

“I-I guess you could say that,” Lydia laughs, still trying to breathe. Stiles reaches over, and presses hand on top of hers.

“Sorry. All of this was kinda my fault,” He smiles, his lips having a vague blue color to them. She looks down and watches his thumb roll over her hand, and then she looks up in his eyes.

“Is that any better?” Allison asks, crouching down beside Lydia’s chair and tucking a blanket over her. Lydia can hear the crackling of a fire they started, and she’s already starting to feel a little better. Although, her blood still feels like it’s turn to ice, but other than that.

“Yeah. Yeah, thanks Allison.” Lydia laughs, bundling up in the blanket.

A few hours go by as they sit around the fire and talk. When lunch comes, they roast hot dogs and talk about Scott’s life before Beacon Hills. He talks about his father not ever being in the picture, and Lydia knows that feeling all too well. Her mom’s always been more than enough, and Scott feels the same way.

At some point Stiles announces that he apparently “has to go take a piss.” So he gets up and walks into the woods, and Lydia sits there tapping her finger against her chair’s armrest. She can feel Allison and Scott staring, but she pretends she doesn’t notice.

“I'll be right back.” Scott gets up, and follows Stiles into the woods.

“So has he said anything else about the kiss?” Allison leans in, smiling a little.

“Oh, at the game?” Lydia laughs awkwardly, waving her off. “Psssssht, that meant nothing. That...it was nothing. Like...what?”

“Lydia, this is stupid!” Allison whispers in a hushed tone, but Lydia still has to “Shh!” her because she’s paranoid Stiles may overhear. “Come on, just make a move. Confront him. There's no distractions out here: just us, the woods, and the water. If there's any time to ask him out, this is the time.”

“I don't want to...I can't. I can't do it.” Lydia puts her face in her hands, shaking her head. “This is ridiculous.”

“Yeah, it is.” Allison rolls her eyes, making Lydia huff and cross her arms. “What? He kisses you a million times, and comes up with a million excuses. He wants you, Lydia. He's making excuses because he's scared you don't like him back, so he's testing the waters.”

“Allison, come on. You know how confident and...outgoing Stiles is. If he liked me, he'd tell me. It's as simple as that.” Lydia breathes out, pulling her legs into her chair.

“You’re wrong, but...just do one thing, okay?” Allison asks, and Lydia sighs.

“What?”

“Kiss him before this trip is over.” Allison smiles a little, and Lydia rolls her eyes and lays back against the chair. “Just once. I don’t think you realize how much of an effect that can have.”

“I can't do that.” Lydia shakes her head, groaning. “I just can't.”

“Yes, you can. He's kissed you like, five times. It's your turn.” Allison says, right as Stiles and Scott push through the bushes, emerging onto the campsite. Lydia crinkles her chairs up into the seat, awkwardly humming so they don’t think anything weird’s going on.

“What’s going on? You guys are acting weird,” Stiles laughs, furrowing his eyebrows as Lydia clears her throat.

“What? Nothing weird is going on,” Lydia scoffs with a laugh, crossing her arms. “What are you even talking about, Stilinski?”

“I’m talking how unbelievably terrible you are at trying to pretend you weren’t talking about something that you obviously didn’t want me to hear, Martin.” He smiles a little as he playfully mocks her, and mirrors her actions by crossing his arms.

“I...wasn’t talking about something that I obviously didn’t want you to hear. And I hate being called by my last name.” She rolls her eyes, and he just keeps that cool, annoying smirk on his face that she just wants to slap off.

“I only called you by your last name because _you_ called _me_ by my last name.” He shrugs, and she has to gulp because God, he is so, _so_ hot, and sometimes she doesn’t even realize it when they’re speaking to each other, and then she suddenly becomes aware of everything around her, and that includes realizing how really good-looking he is. He’s completely and utterly breathtaking. “What’s wrong? You look queasy.” And, of course, he kneels down in front of her and presses the back of his hand against her forehead. “You okay?”

“Psht, yeah. Of course I am,” She laughs it off, entirely embarrassed that it’s because of him. “You...you’re queasy.”

“Jesus, what is going on with you?” He laughs in confusion, shaking his head as he gets in his chair and pops open a soda.

She just breathes out a sigh of relief, just happy she isn't put on the spot anymore. He keeps glancing over at her though, but she pretends she doesn’t notice.

“So what should we do?” Lydia clears her throat a little, grabbing a drink of her own from the cooler.

“Well, we’re camping. So how about we hike?” Allison offers, and Scott and Stiles both practically jump at the chance.

“Lyd? You in?” Stiles holds his hand out to help her up, grinning.

“Oh yeah,” She says, trying to sound enthusiastic but falling completely flat. She sounds dead inside, and that’s exactly how she feels. If she can’t run for two minutes without almost passing out, then how the hell do they expect her to hike? “That sounds so fun.”

“Great,” Stiles pulls her up out of her chair, and he’s so strong that when he pulls, it’s way too hard. She slams against his chest, and it knocks all of the air from her lungs with the sudden impact. He stumbles back a little, but then his hand slides down to the small of her back, and he stands his ground. Her hands are pressed flat against his chest, and she’s breathing out quick, uneven breaths.

“Sorry,” He smiles a little, looking down at her. Their bodies are pressed together firmly, and her head starts spinning. “I overestimated the pull a little.”

“A little?” She laughs lightly, and playfully pushes off his chest. She’s still breathless as he starts laughing, and ruffles her hair.

“I forgot for a second that you’re like, the tiniest human on the planet.” He nudges her arm jokingly, and she starts laughing like a complete, mindless idiot.

“Shut up,” She scoffs, trying to cover the huge smile on her face. And then Allison clears her throat, and Lydia’s face turns dark red. She forgot they were even there.

“Ready to go?” Allison smiles, looking between them.

“Of course,” Lydia forces a laugh, trying to pretend this isn’t awkward. She wonders how Stiles even feels about it. “I’m just...so ready to hike. To hike up a mountain, and sweat, and...this all just sounds like so much fun.”

“I know you’re being sarcastic, but I think you’re actually going to enjoy it.” Allison links their arms together, and grabs a bottle of water before they all head off into the woods.

“I really, really doubt it.” She sighs, laying her head on Allison’s shoulder. “God, I’m already tired.”

They’re about thirty minutes in, and while Lydia’s on the edge of death, the other three are talking and laughing like they’re having the time of their lives. Stiles stands in place and waits for her to catch up, laughing.

“Stop laughing at me.” Lydia whines, pushing his arm playfully, feeling her calves burning like hellfire.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it,” He laughs, patting her back with a sigh. “You know, after this trip and everything goes back to normal, I’ll train you if you want.”

“Train me? Like how?” She turns to him, stopping in her tracks. He stops too, and crosses his arms.

“Like fighting. Everyone should know how to protect themselves.” He shrugs, and she doubles over, putting her hands on her knees while she pants. Then they start walking again. “I mean, really. What if someone attacked you or something?”

“Why would someone attack me?” She laughs a little at the absurdness, but he isn’t.

“Jesus, Lydia, crazy stuff happens all the time. You have no idea what could happen, and I hate the idea that you couldn’t even defend yourself if something did. God, do you even carry pepper spray?” He stops again, and she stops and sighs.

“Really worried about me, huh?” She tilts her head, teasing him.

“Of course I am.” He scoffs, like he couldn’t believe she didn’t know that. “And I’m not messing around, either.”

“I know, I know,” She walks again, rolling her eyes. “Well I’m in then, I guess. If you don’t mind spending whatever extra time you have left teaching me.”

“If I minded, I wouldn’t have volunteered.” He laughs, and she looks at the ground and smiles. “It’ll definitely help with stamina, too.”

“Well, thanks, Stiles. Seriously.” She looks at him with a small smile, and he just nods.

“Oh my God, are we almost there? I think I’m going to die.” Lydia groans, practically crawling up the mountain now. It’s been almost two hours that they’ve been gone, and she now wishes that she had brought like, four water bottles.

“Actually,” Allison grins, and pushes a limb out of the way. A ray of sunlight shines through the trees there, and Allison steps through. “Here we are.”

Stiles puts his arm around Lydia’s waist and smiles, guiding her towards it.

“Oh my God,” Lydia gasps, putting her hand over her mouth. “This is so beautiful.”

So they all sit down, taking in the view. Allison and Scott are cuddled up together, with their arms around each other. Stiles and Lydia sit in a comfortable difference from each other, but his arm is still on her waist.

“Worth it?” Stiles tightens his grip a little on her side, and she feels breathless for another reason now.

“I’m still deciding.” She turns to him and smiles, and he’s so close to her that she can see the way his dark brown eyes suddenly look gold in the sunset. She gulps, and his eyes are darting around her face, until they settle on her lips. Then he laughs, and looks back in her eyes.

“It wasn’t that bad.” He shakes his head, but she feels like she’s going to choke. How can he be so charming without even saying words?

“Yeah, for you. You’re like...buff,” She laughs a little, ripping at the weeds sprouting from the ground beside her leg.

“Uh...thanks? I think?” He laughs, nudging her with his elbow. His go-to.

“It was just a fact.” She shrugs nonchalantly, and then turns to him and laughs.

“You’re a jerk,” Stiles looks at her, even when she looks away. Then, thinking back at way Allison said, Lydia takes in a long breath, and lays her head on Stiles’ shoulder. It may not have been a kiss, but it’s a start. A good one, too, because he hesitates a second before he lays his cheek on top of her head.


	53. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for all of the support you've given me! I'm so glad that after all of this time you're still here :)

“Come on, we better get back before it gets dark,” Allison says about thirty minutes later, brushing the dirt from her pants. “It’s starting to get cold anyway.”

“Aw, but this is the best part,” Lydia pouts, but Stiles is already pulling her onto her feet.

“Yeah, if you wanna be up here all night because you can't find your way back, have at it.” Stiles smiles, and Lydia also wipes her ass off with her hand to get the dirt off.

“Fine, let's go,” Lydia grumbles, and they grab their stuff and start heading back. Allison and Scott are ahead, and Lydia and Stiles are a little behind them. She knows Stiles is keeping at her pace to not leave her behind.

“God, I don't know if I can go  _ all the way  _ back.” She whines, and they break out their flashlight’s because it’s almost completely dark outside now. “Where’s our water?”

“Here’s mine.” Stiles stops and hands her his bottle of water, and she takes a second to drink it and rest.

“Oops. I didn’t mean to drink it all.”

“It’s fine.” Stiles laughs, and she hands it back to him. Their hands touch briefly, and Lydia gulps and laughs a little, pulling her hand away. He doesn’t even notice, really, which is the normal thing to do. She feels like such a socially awkward weirdo around him, but he doesn't seem to mind.

“So how have you been holding up? About everything.” Stiles starts slowly walking again, and she walks alongside him.

“Everything as in...Jackson and Ashley?” Lydia asks, looking down at the ground as her shoes crunch on top of the leaves.

“Jackson, Ashley, your mom. Anything else. Just everything.” He smiles a little, and she nods.

“Um...good, really. Mom’s good, and I'm pretty over Jackson. I'm not sure if I told you, but Ashley actually apologized. She cried, and told me she was sorry.” Lydia looks over at Stiles to see his reaction, make sure he's not upset. As always, it's impossible to tell.

“Really?” He turns to her, looking surprised.

“Why is that so surprising?” Lydia laughs a little, gently nudging his shoulder.

“It's just...she never really liked you, per se.” He shrugs, looking ahead.

“Really?! Why not? Oh my God, this whole time I just though she, like, hated everyone or something. I thought it was her thing. But just me?” Lydia stops in her tracks, gasping a little.

“Well, that's kind of true too. But...she really didn't like you.” Stiles sighs, acting as if it's the most normal thing in the world.

“God, Stiles, why? Why didn't she like me?” Lydia tucks her hair behind her ear, knowing for a fact that she looks frantic. She is.

“She sort of...I don't know. She thought you liked me or something.” He laughs a little as he rubs his hand against the back of his neck, glancing up for her reaction. Lydia pushes her lips together, stepping back a little. She doesn't even know what to say. “That's crazy, right? I mean...it is, isn't it?”

“Pssssht,” Lydia brings out the finger guns, laughing coolly. “Extremely crazy.”

“Yeah, I mean...she just thought since we were spending so much time together that you liked me or something. And now I see that it was probably that she was just mad that you were with Jackson.” Stiles laughs, and shoves his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah. I mean, yeah, that has to be it.” Lydia gulps and laughs, barely able to breathe. This is awful.

“Don't worry about it, really. If it makes you feel better, she thought I kind of had a thing for you too.” He laughs and shakes his head, hiding his face a little. Lydia's mouth feels dry. It's almost completely dark outside and they definitely need a flashlight, but this is the very last moment in history that she would want to break. They haven't talked about anything like this...ever.

“She did?” Lydia says with a smile, but it comes out entirely breathless and she hopes he doesn't notice that.

“Yeah. I mean...we did kiss a few times. I think she noticed some awkward tension between us and misread or something. Right?” He keeps eye contact as he reaches down and pulls up the hem of his shirt, wiping the dirt off of his forehead. His abs are right there, so close, but she knows that if she looks then he'll see, and this is not a good time for that to happen. So she keeps eye contact, actually having to force herself not to look, even for a second.

“I think so too.” Is all she replies, laughing awkwardly.

“Then oh well, yeah? We don't have to worry about that anymore.” He digs his flashlight out of his pocket, and Lydia nods.

“Yeah.” She nods, chewing the inside of her cheek. Stiles cuts his flashlight on, and starts walking. “Well how are you? With everything?”

“I'm good. I already knew things were basically over with Ashley, I guess. My dad works a lot but the bills are getting paid. Everything's...pretty nice.” He side glances at her, smiling. “Jesus, it's cold out here.”

“That's good. And yeah, it is. And my legs are aching.” She complains, and then suddenly stops in her tracks. “Oh my God. Where is Allison and Scott?”

“Oh shit.” Stiles says under his breath, shining his flashlight from left to right, and then all around them. “How did we lose them?”

“Because we, like, stopped and talked for a pretty good while. They could be almost to camp already, right? Oh my god.” Lydia starts to freak out, doubling over and breathing heavily.

“Lydia, Lydia, it's fine. We’ll find them.” Stiles puts his hand on her back, but little does he know that it makes her panicking much, much worse.

“Allison!” Lydia yells into the night, hearing it echo through the cool open air.

“Jesus, Lydia, what the hell are you doing?” Stiles puts his arm around her waist, and throws his hand over her mouth. “You're going to draw all animals within ten miles right to us. So unless you want to be dinner, you better shut up.”

“Dick.” Lydia says under her breath, pushing him off of her.

“What was that?” He asks, crossing his arms.

“Oh, nothing!” Lydia smiles, and he just rolls his eyes and laughs. “God, so what should we do?”

“Well, our phones are dead, and we'd have no reception out here even if they weren't. I'm sure they're looking for us by now, anyway, so let's just keep going. If we aren't back in about thirty minutes, we’ll figure out a new approach.” He hands her a flashlight, and then grabs another one from her bag.

“I know this sounds dramatic, but I hope they find us soon. I don't know how much more I can walk.” Lydia breathes out, trying to stay up to Stiles’ pace.

“Okay, come on,” he sighs, leaning down a little. “Just get on.”

“Like...a piggy back ride?” She asks, shining her light on him. He squints at the light.

“No, Lydia, I want you to stand on my head.” He shakes his head, and she rolls her eyes and laughs.

“Isn't that going to make you tired?” She asks, biting her thumb.

“I haven't been tired for one second this entire trip. I do worse than this every day at practice.” He laughs, and then signals at his back again. “Now come on.”

“Okay. I'm…getting on your back. I'm just...gonna do it.” She shakes her body out, and then climbs on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hands her his flashlight and then grips her thighs, standing up. This is...definitely an experience.

“You okay down there?” She asks, moving the flashlight around in front of him so he can see. She trying to pretend she isn't dying right now, because his beautiful, muscular back is right against her, and his hands are holding her thighs. Pretty high up too, which is something that she doesn't let her mind think about too much.

“Are you kidding? It's like I'm holding a stuffed animal or something.” He laughs, squeezing her thighs a few times playfully.

“Have any?” Lydia asks, laughing as she gets closer and props her chin on his shoulder.

“Stuffed animals? Of course.” He laughs, and then wordlessly removes one of his hands from her leg and moves it up to adjust the flashlight she's holding to point it straight ahead. She had forgotten and let it aim down at the ground. “Who doesn't?”

“What was their names?” She asks, smiling. She still terrified about being lost in the woods at night, and how there are potentially dangerous animals out here, but she's trying to stay calm and clear her head.

“Mr. Snuggles and Teddy. I wasn't very original, I know.” He laughs, moving his hands up higher on her leg absentmindedly.

“Aww, little Stiles cuddling with Mr. Snuggles. How sweet.” She teases, and he pinches her leg.

“I know you're being an ass, but he was an amazing cuddle buddy, FYI.” He laughs, and she sighs and grabs his hair. “Whoa, what the hell?”

“I always wanted to see if that maneuver from Ratatouille worked.” She pulls on his hair, but he doesn't flinch except for the firmer grip on her thighs. “Fine, I'll stop!”

“You're so weird.” He shakes his hair out, laughing. She pauses for a second, thinking.

“I'm not like... _ weird,  _ though, am I?” She laughs, but it sounds insecure.

“You're weird, yeah. But a cute weird, more than a  _ weird  _ weird, you know?” He says softly, obviously hearing her previously worried tone. God, why does he have to do that?

“You aren't always a dick, I guess,” She pulls on his ear teasingly, laughing and laying her head against his back. “It's really cold out here.”

“Put your hands in my shirt.” He offers, and if it wasn't so nonchalant she'd think he was joking.

“What?” She retorts, taken aback a little.

“Here,” he sighs, stopping in his tracks. He pulls her legs tighter around his waist, grabs the flashlight from her hand, and then grabs both of her hands and shoves them down the front of his shirt. He’s warm, and she's actually  _ touching his chest.  _ Like, full on palm-to-peck touching it. “I'm not really cold.”

“Yeah, you're chest is like...God, it's warm.” She shivers and lays her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes.

“Your hands are like ice cubes.” He laughs, using his left hand to grab her thigh and using his right to guide the flashlight.

“I told you I was cold.” She laughs, her teeth chattering a little. “Mmm, you feel so good.”

“That sounds dangerously sexual, Leia.” He tilts his head, playfully knocking it with hers. She suddenly wants to be embarrassed and pinch his side, but she's not embarrassed. Maybe it's the cool air that's preventing her face from heating up, but she suddenly wants to play along.

“Well, I do know a great way to stay warm if you're up for it…” Her hand gently slides down his chest, sensually curving around his muscles.

“If you're going to seduce me,” he laughs, which hurts her feelings a little. “You're gonna have to do a little better than that.”

“Better?” She doesn't hesitate to fire back, as she pulls her hands from his shirt and starts dragging them slowly across his neck. Then, feeling strangely confident, she leans into his ear and whispers: “I'll give you better.”

He shivers a little at that, and she sees him gulp. Then she licks along the edge of his ear, then sucks on his earlobe. He lets out a small, almost inaudible gasp, which makes her smile. She's getting to him.

“It's going to take a little more than-” He starts to say, but then she reaches down and slides her hands  _ up  _ his shirt, and gently bites down on his earlobe. He moans then, and Lydia's heart is racing so fast that the blood rushes to her ears, causing a ringing sound. She kisses down his neck then, and he has to prop himself against the nearest tree to compose himself.

“A little more than what?” She whispers against his warm skin, gently scratching her fingers against his abs.

“That's it,” he swings her around his waist, so now her legs are around his back and she's facing him. Her back is against the tree, and his face is right against hers. The flashlight is on the ground now, and Stiles is panting as he presses his fingers into her thighs.

“What? Did my seduction methods work?” She laughs a little, but he just swallows thickly and breathes heavily. She can't see at all really, but he presses his forehead to hers and she can feel his hot breath against her mouth. Just close enough that if one of them moved an  _ inch  _ closer, they would be kissing. And she really, really wants to move an inch closer.

Allison's words echo in her mind:  _ kiss him.  _ And if there's a right time, this is it. She's not even sure how this happened, but it is, and she feels consumed in all things Stiles.

“Stop messing around,” He laughs breathlessly, right as she's about to lean in to kiss him. He doesn't see that though, so he doesn't know. He lets her down, and her feet crunch against the leaves. She feels lightheaded. “If we want to get back to camp tonight, we shouldn't waste time.”

“Yeah, sorry,” She laughs, almost passing out as she tries to not reveal her shortness of breath. “I had to, uh, mess with you a little,” She licks her lips, thinking about how they were just against his skin. She feels her awful awkwardness surfacing quickly, and it's making her panic. “It's nothing. Like, nothing. I guess I'm just scared or something, so I was trying to take my mind off of that. Maybe. Actually-”

“You're doing that nervous babble thing you do,” Stiles laughs, grabbing the flashlight off of the ground. They both start walking again, and practically ignore what just happened which feels oddly wrong. “You okay? What are you scared about?”

“Just...normal stuff,” she shrugs and laughs awkwardly, almost tripping on a branch but quickly composing herself. “Like, that we aren't going to make it back to camp and we’ll freeze to death. Or an animal attack. Maybe even the flashlight goes out, and we have no source of light until morning.”

“Aw, are you scared of the dark?” He asks, which may sound mocking, but he's actually really sincere in his words and she wants to punch him because he's so cute. Then without a warning, he reaches down with his free hand and tangles their fingers together. “Don't worry, seriously. We’ll be fine. At least we aren't alone.”

Which, in her mind, translates to:  _ at least I'm with you. _

“Yeah,” She takes in a long, drawn out breath, trying to act cool. “I mean yeah, you're right.”

“Lydia,” Stiles stops and turns to her. “Seriously. Are you okay? I mean...do you feel safe with me?”

As hard as she tries, she can't ignore how annoyingly intimate that sounded. She knows for a one hundred percent  _ fact  _ that she definitely looks too deeply into his words, but she wishes he wouldn't  _ say  _ things like that so she wouldn't have to.

“Of course I do. Besides, it's not you; it's sort of just this entire atmosphere. You have to admit it's a little scary. Like, the beginning of every horror movie scary.”

“Come on, it's not  _ that _ bad.” He laughs and squeezes her hand, and they continue on their trek. “I mean, yeah, bad things  _ could  _ happen, but the likeliness of any of the things you said is low. Except the flashlight battery one. That's actually pretty likely.”

“Wow, Stiles. That really made me feel  _ so much  _ better. Really.” She says sarcastically, and he laughs and playfully shoves her.

“Shut up,” he replies simply, laughing. “We’ll be fine. If we just keep going, we’ll eventually have to run into something.”

“I guess.” She nods, even though she knows it's too dark for him to even see it. This is going to be a long night.


	54. Found

They continue walking around for about forty-five minutes, even though Stiles said after thirty they would re-evaluate their plan, and also Lydia’s pretty sure they aren’t even going in the right direction.

“Stiles, what should we do? I’m tired and cold and I’m mad that we probably won’t even be able to sleep in a tent our full two nights of camping. Like, how does that even happen, really? You’re not even going to get the  _ real  _ camping experience.” Lydia whines, and Stiles has to keep slapping the flashlight because it keeps flickering off. It’s about to die, and they both know it.  

“Honestly, I-” He says in a tired voice, before gasping and grabbing Lydia’s arm. “Oh my God, that’s cold. Hooooly shit.” 

“What?” Lydia questions, frantically feeling around for him. Then her foot sinks, and the needle sensation is back again. “Oh  _ God!”  _

“The lake,” Stiles pulls her out of it, and she can feel the mud squishing beneath her feet. Now the leaves are sticking to her shoes. “So we have to be close, right? I mean, the campsite is near the lake, so…”

“So if we keep following it, we’ll eventually have to find them then. Okay. At least we have a plan now." She gulps, but she's trying to stay calm. And then...the flashlight flickers, and then goes out for good. And it’s just about pitch black outside. Stiles immediately grabs her hand as she takes in a huge breath. He knows she's scared.

"It's okay. Lydia, listen to me, alright? We're going to be fine." He pulls her against his chest, and she takes in another long, deep breath. She wants to cry, because having a panic attack right now would be extremely embarrassing and unneeded. And embarrassing. "Do I need to kiss you again or what?"

"Shut up," She laughs against his chest, and she feels him laughing too as she reaches up to hold his arm. "This is so stupid, I know. Make fun of me; have at it."

"Why the hell would I make fun of you?" He wraps his arms tighter around her, tucking her head against his collarbone. "You being in pain isn't funny to me, if you didn't know that already."

"I didn't mean it like that." She pulls back and looks at him, and she can only see the right side of his face because the moon is shining through the trees.

"I know. But I really don't want you to think I'd ever do something like that." He sighs, looking down at the ground.

"Come on, I don't," She replies, already somehow forgetting about the panic attack she was about to have. He looks at her for a second, and then shakes his head and scratches his neck.

"Do you want my sweatshirt? I know you're freezing." He offers, already about to pull it off but she stops his hand.

"And I know you are, too. Your lips are purple." Lydia laughs, her teeth chattering as she rubs her arms to keep warm. She's wearing a jacket too, of course, but it's not even remotely close enough to stay warm in this weather. She's just ready to be back at the campsite, by the warm, crackling fire...

"Yeah, but-" He starts, but Lydia sh's him immediately.

"Did you hear that?!" She asks, grabbing his arm. "Come on."

"What? I didn't hear anything." He says, following her through the woods. Then they hear it again. It's distant, but Lydia would recognize the voice anywhere. Allison.

"Allison! We're over here!" Lydia yells back, and Stiles runs right next to her. Then both parties call at the same time, and then almost literally run into each other.

"Oh thank God! I was worried sick about you!" Allison says with concern, squeezing Lydia almost to death. "What the hell happened to you two?"

"We stopped to drink water, and we talked a minute, and then suddenly we looked up and...you were gone. And it was dark, and we lost our way, and then our flashlight just went off, and God...this was...something." Lydia laughs and pulls back to look at Allison, who has tears in her eyes.

"Sorry, I was just freaking out a little. I'm so happy to see you." She laughs, wiping her tears. They hug again, and Stiles and Scott are doing the same.

"How far away are we from the campsite?" Lydia asks, as Allison hands her an extra sweater she brought for this exact moment.

"About two minutes," Scott says, pointing the way that Lydia and Stiles were about to go opposite of. "We had searched for you guys, and then our flashlights batteries went dead so we just went back there to get some more. We thought we heard you guys talking from there, so that's why we came this way."

"Wait, seriously?" Stiles looks at Lydia, and he has the slightest smile on his face. "So we were this close almost the entire time, and we didn't even know it?"

"Yeah, sounds like it," Allison shrugs, feeling sorry for them. Just then Scott pushes away a few branches, and the campsite is just ahead. 

“At least we’re here now though, right?” Lydia smiles at him, right before running to the fire. She pulls her chair as close to the fire as she can without burning herself, grabs a blanket, and gets cozy. “God, I was so cold that I didn’t even realize how friggin’  _ hungry  _ I was. That’s so scary.”

“Me too.” Stiles pulls his chair closer to hers, slides hot dogs on two sticks, and hands one to Lydia. “This is so nice. I forgot what warmth felt like for a minute there.”

“God, I know,” Lydia shivers, smiling over at him as she holds her hot dog over the fire. 

“I’m so, so sorry,” Allison says from across the fire, still freaking out a little. “From now on, we all stick together no matter what.”

“Of course,” Lydia laughs, her teeth chattering still. “It’s fine, Allison. We’re fine.”

“I know. I’m just a little nervous still.” She laughs, and Scott holds her and starts whispering to her. 

“She'll be okay. She was just worried.” Stiles whispers to Lydia, and she nods. 

“Hey, do you want some of this blanket? Sorry, I didn’t even think about it.” Lydia laughs, reaching out to offer him some. He moves his chair so the arms of his and hers are touching, and pulls the blanket over him. But when he pulls it, it slides off of her. “It’s too small.”

“I see,” He laughs, rubbing his chin. “You wanna just come sit with me?”

“Like…” She stutters a little, clearing her throat.

“Like sit in my lap? Yeah.” He laughs, narrowing his eyes. She knows she looks really immature right now, but if he only knew the way she felt about him...maybe he would understand why she’s hesitant. But since he doesn’t, and since she’s probably never, ever going to tell him how she feels, she gets up and sits on his lap. 

“Don’t get too excited, Stilinski,” She huffs, spreading the blanket across the both of them while still holding her hot dog on the stick. 

“I was gonna say the same to you,” He shrugs, sliding his hand over the part of the jeans that are covering her thigh. She slaps it away, laughing.

Then when she turns to check her hot dog, Allison and Scott are watching them and whispering to each other. Lydia gulps and looks down, pulling her hot dog in. 

“Ignore them.” Stiles whispers quietly, knocking his elbow against hers. “You know how they are.”

She doesn’t reply, or acknowledge him at all really, because now everything’s awkward. Maybe not for him, but he also isn’t deeply in love with her, either. 

“Lydia, seriously. Don’t let them get to you; they’re being so ridiculous.” Stiles laughs, trying to tease her a little. But Lydia just turns away, fixing her hot dog with Mustard and Ketchup. “You know they’re just trying to mess with us. Why do you let them?”

“It just...it makes stuff awkward, okay? I don’t know.” She shakes her head, about to take a bite of her hot dog. But Stiles takes it from her hands, and sets both of theirs down on a plate on top of Lydia’s previous chair. 

“No, you know what?” Stiles picks her up and stands up, and she gasps in surprise. 

“Stiles, what the h-”

“If you guys want something to  _ actually  _ talk and laugh about, I’ll give it to you.” Stiles turns to them, tosses a balled up napkin at them, and then kisses Lydia right on the mouth. She stands there limp, in shock, before he wraps his strong, long arms around her waist and pulls her against him. His lips are soft and gentle, and her eyes flicker closed as she reaches up and puts her arms around his neck. One of his arms get tighter on her waist, and the other reaches up and tangles in her hair. She wants to moan and gasp and kiss him deeper, but then Allison and Scott start laughing and clapping, and Stiles pulls away, laughing himself. Then he bows, and Lydia’s just standing there breathless, her hair is messed up, and she’s stumbling on her feet. She has to balance herself. 

“All of that to prove a point? Wow, Stiles, sounds like you’re just making up excuses so you can kiss Lydia now.” Scott laughs, and Allison and Lydia lock eyes. Lydia is smiling like a friggin’ idiot.

“Ha ha,” Stiles rolls his eyes and laughs, falling back into his chair. Then he grabs Lydia’s hips and pulls her on top of him, and she feels like she could actually  _ die,  _ because he didn’t even deny it. Not that that’s a sure sign, but it’s a start that she hadn’t been even expecting about four seconds prior.

“Lydia, what did you think about the kiss?” Allison smiles, and Lydia shoots her daggers with her eyes. 

“It was...good,” She nods, and Stiles scoffs. “What?”

“Just good? It had to have been better than  _ good.”  _ He pokes her side, looking a little offended behind his smile. 

“I mean...fine, it was better than good, you big baby.” She laughs, playfully flicking his nose. “So what? That...wasn’t hard to say at all.”

“Stiles, what about you? What did you think about the kiss?” Scott questions, and this feels more like a painful interrogation than anything else. Lydia’s terrified of what he might answer. Bad? Horrible? Disgusting? Barely even tolerable?

“Amazing, hot,  _ very  _ turn-on worthy.” He sets his hand on her thigh, squeezing a little. She has to swallow thickly because she  _ actually  _ feels like she’s going to throw up. In a good way, though. 

And she doesn’t know why, either, because this is all just a funny game to him. He’s doing the whole “maybe they’ll stop teasing if we finally play along” scenario, but Lydia isn’t so sure she’s even strong enough to do it with him. Can he  _ really  _ be so blind? It’s almost ridiculous at this point. 

“How many times have you guys kissed again?” Allison asks innocently, but Lydia knows better. 

“Six times now.” Stiles says, and Lydia takes a second to process that. First of all, he didn’t even have to really  _ think  _ about it: he already knew the number. Second of all…

“Stiles,” Lydia cuts in, turning on his lap to face him. “Which times are you counting?”

“Uh, first the hospital, then my house, then your house on the couch, then in the hall, the game, and...now. Why?” He laughs, and she gulps. 

“You said you didn’t remember that night. The night you were drunk, and you kissed me, and I had to explain to you what happened the next day…” She replies, completely confused.

“Yeah, I, uh, sort of lied about that. I knew it was probably weird that I did that, so I got you to explain what happened over again to see if you would include the kiss in it. When you didn’t, I guessed you  _ did _ think it was weird, so I never said anything about it. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied.” His eyes glance over her face, trying to read it. 

“No, it’s...you’re fine. This whole time I just thought...nevermind.” She laughs it off, gulping as she looks down at his lips. She wants to kiss them again so badly that her mouth is dry at the thought. Then she shakes her temporary daydream away, and grabs her hotdog again. “God, I’m starving.”

So she shoves the hotdog in her mouth, but Stiles just sits there watching her. He probably noticed her staring at his mouth, and is freaked out by it. Either way, she wishes he’d stop staring, especially while she’s messily eating a hotdog. 

“Having a moment over there?” Allison asks across the fire, her and Scott cuddled together on a tiny little chair. That must be what her and Stiles look like to them. 

“Yeah, of course we are. I was just telling Lydia that the other campers are gonna think someone’s getting attacked by a wild animal with how loud I’ll have her screaming in our tent toni-” 

“Jesus, Stiles!” Lydia scoffs and covers his mouth, but he just smiles behind it as she blushes. Which is exactly what he wanted. “That’s...like, a total lie. He just made that up about a second before he said it. There’s absolutely no truth to that whatsoever.”

“We get it, Lyd,” Allison laughs, snuggling against Scott’s chest. “Stiles is just saying that because he  _ wishes  _ it was true, is all.”

“Well, obviously,” He laughs, playing along with their teasing. It’s almost unbearable in both good and bad ways, because she knows he’s joking, but even hearing him  _ say  _ those words is strangely thrilling because it seems so real. She doesn’t know how much longer she can take how careless he is about this, or the way he can just make a huge joke out of it while she’s trying to hold herself together. 


	55. Pajamas and Lack Thereof

Finally the topic changes, and Lydia couldn’t be more happy about that. Now they’re talking about the scariest movies they’ve ever watched, and Lydia - as much as she doesn’t want to admit it -  is getting a little scared. Not about the movies, exactly, just the fact that there are plenty of horror movies with this exact plotline: a group of teenagers in the woods, stupid and weaponless. And then a serial killer or monster ends up tearing them apart, and all there is left of them are blood and guts. She shivers. 

“What? Scared?” Stiles laughs, poking fun at her. 

“Huh?” She scoffs, pushing his shoulder. “Pssht, no way.”

“Oh my God, you are! Do you want me to read you a little bedtime story before bed to make you less scared?” He says in a baby voice, sticking out his bottom lip. 

“God, shut the hell up, Stilinski.” Lydia rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, but she’s trying to fight a smile.

“Aw, Lyd, are you scared really?” Allison looks at her with worry, and Lydia shakes her off. 

“No! No, why would I be scared? Stiles is just being...well, Stiles,” Lydia says, and Scott laughs. 

“And what the hell does that mean? “Stiles is just being Stiles?”” He asks, and she twists in his lap so she can face him. 

“Honestly, Stiles, I think you can decipher that on your own from the context.” Lydia retorts, and Scott and Allison are now laughing and teasing along with her. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Stiles laughs, now rolling his eyes. “Anyway else about to die from exhaustion?”

“What?! We can’t go to sleep yet. This is our last night!” Allison argues, and Scott is nodding along with her, but his eyes are glazed over with tiredness. “Oh my God, Scott, wake up!”

“You two are babies! You’re already tired? It’s only like eleven!” Lydia huffs, but Stiles just yawns and shuts his eyes. “This is ridiculous.”

“Fine. But we’re going to makeup for this tomorrow, so you both better get well-rested.” Allison kisses Scott’s cheek, and then stands up. So Lydia stands up too, and Allison grabs Scott’s hand and pulls him out of the chair. 

“Goodnight, guys,” Scott smiles at them, right before he and Allison get in their tent. 

“Don’t be loud, please!” Stiles yells with a laugh, and Lydia rolls her eyes as she pulls him out of the seat. 

“Ready to go to bed, old man?” She laughs, as he follows her to the tent. She gulps. 

“Yes, actually,” He says proudly, as she grabs her pajamas.

“I’m gonna get dressed. Stay in the tent and don’t look, okay?” She starts to zip it up, but he stops her hand. 

“You can get in here and change,” He says, smiling a little. “I don’t mind, promise.”

“Ha ha, I’m sure you don’t.” She narrows her eyes, and he breaks out in laughter as she finally zips the rest up. After she’s finished, she gets in the tent. It’s still pretty light in there since the fire is right outside. 

“You aren’t going to get into pajamas?” She asks, stuffing herself into her sleeping bag. She has the most least sexy pajamas in the world on: a plaid long-sleeved matching set. It’s not sexy, maybe, but it keeps her warm and that’s the point, right?

“Oh yeah,” he says, pulling his shirt off. Then he unzips his pants, and she blushes as he pulls them off right in front of her. He’s only in boxers now. Then he gets in his sleeping bag while she sits there stunned.

“That’s not exactly going to keep you warm in this freezing weather.” She says, and he laughs. 

“I don’t really mind the cold. Plus a little bit of fabric isn't going to do much to keep me warm, anyway. I feel pretty free, too.” He smiles cheesily, and she shakes her head and laughs. “What, don’t like it? If it would make you feel comfortable, you could take your clothes off too. Make it even, you know.”

“Yes, because I’m sure being even is your biggest concern with that selfless proposal.” She laughs, turning on her side to face him as she lays down. 

“What can I say? I’m just a caring guy, I guess.” He shrugs humbly, and she laughs. Again. Why does he have to be funny, too? His humor is leaning more towards the douchebag side, but that’s exactly it - he  _ knows  _ he’s being a douchebag. It’s all a joke, so that’s why it’s...tolerable.

“Oh yeah, Stiles. Thanks so much for looking out for me.” She gushes, putting her hands on her heart and sighing dramatically. They laugh it off for a minute, and then Stiles looks at her. 

“Why do you let them get to you? When they’re messing with us and everything. It’s just teasing, you know.” He laughs lightly, but it doesn’t really fit with the heavy tone of the conversation.  

“I told you. It just...makes stuff awkward.” She replies, shrugging carelessly. 

“Only because you let it. It's not awkward to me. Besides, we always flirt with each other; we're just messing around and they know that. They're just trying to make it awkward and you shouldn't let it.” Be he says softly, and she turns on her back and looks up at the tents ceiling as she sighs. 

“I know, but it's hard not to get embarrassed when they are purposely  _ trying _ to embarrass me.” She laughs a little, and turns back to look at him. He’s just staring at her. 

“If you play into it and act like you don't care, they'll give up because it's not fun to them anymore. Just be cool about it, and it'll stop.” He replies, and then adds: “If that's what you want.”

She's not really sure what he means about that last part, so she hesitates a second, trying to think.

She decides to curve it onto him instead.

“Did you  _ really  _ have to kiss me, though?” She narrows her eyes, teasing him. 

“What, didn't like it?” He smiles, but looks a little taken aback. 

“I mean...yeah. I guess, I mean, it wasn't bad if that's what you're asking.” She tries to act normal, and fails miserably. He's used to it by now so he doesn't address it, thank god. 

“I don't know, I guess since we've kissed so many times it wasn't a big deal. But if it was, I won't do it anymore…”

“No! I mean...god, that's not what I meant by that. Not that I even, like,  _ care  _ or anything but...I was just saying.” She shrugs.

“You're trying to say that I was just trying to find an excuse to kiss you, right?” He laughs, but he's pushing back a little. She gulps, sitting up and shaking her head. 

“No,” She laughs awkwardly, clearing her throat. “I wasn't accusing you of that. I was just messing with you and you turned it on me, so…”

“You just wanted to get back on the subject of us kissing, didn't you?” He smiles, raising an eyebrow. 

“No! Shut up, Stiles,” She sighs, shaking her head. 

“That’s exactly it, isn’t it? You’re getting so defensive! Aw, that’s cute Leia. Hoping that if we talked about it enough I’d do it again, right?” He hums proudly, and she huffs annoyingly. 

“Okay,  _ you  _ are the one who keeps talking about the kiss,” she sits up, pushing his chest with real annoyance now. “So stop doing that... _ Stiles  _ thing you do.”

“Stiles thing?” He laughs, sitting up and looking confused. “What does that mean?”

“You know, that weird...charm thing you have. You can say something completely untrue, and I know that, but if you keep saying it I start to believe it myself,” she breathes out, gulping. “And it makes me feel crazy.”

“So…you  _ do _ want to kiss me, then?” He narrows his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips.  _ Of course I do, you idiot. _

“What? That's not what I said! Not even close!” She huffs in exasperation, and he just props himself up on his elbow smugly. 

“But you haven't denied it. Not once. So now you’re on the spot.” He stares her in the eyes, and she gulps. “Do you want to kiss me, Lydia?” He leans in, staring at her lips and then glancing up to her eyes. He’s whispering now, and she feels this burning ache in her chest, because  _ God yes  _ she wants to kiss him. Forever, and never come up for breath. 

“Do  _ you  _ want to kiss me?” She interrupts him, and he hesitates. Then he smiles and opens his mouth to reply, but then they hear a moan. From Allison, in the tent right next to theirs. 

“Oh, God.” Lydia rolls her eyes, a little grossed out. She’s in her mind thinking of a thousand ways to kill Allison in the morning for ruining their (almost) moment. “That’s….”

“Gross.” Stiles shivers, laughing. They both lay back down, and it’s extremely awkward. Like, almost at Stiles’-dad-almost-walking-in-on-us awkward. Maybe because of the fact that they  _ were _ actually having a moment, and now, after getting knocked out of that weird obscure reverie, realize how completely strange that was. 

“Exactly.” Lydia pulls the sleeping bag up to her chin, her teeth chattering. “I don’t know how we’re going to sleep with how cold it is in here. I’m already dying.”

“Good thing I can see right past your subliminal hints that you want to cuddle with me,” Stiles winks at her playfully, pulling her against him. His skin is so soft and warm she wants to just melt into it. 

“They were  _ not  _ subliminal hints. But I guess I’ll take it, since you obviously want it so, so badly.” She says dramatically, trying to relax her shaking body. He wraps his arms tighter around her, and she bundles up against his chest in pure desperation for warmth. 

“So badly,” He repeats in a dramatic whisper, making her smile. 

“I don’t understand how you can be practically naked in this weather, Stiles, really. I know the thin fabric isn’t much, but it seems like a lot right now.” She laughs, her warm breath ghosting his neck. 

“I’m fine. Besides, I knew we would end up cuddling anyway, and I figured it would help raise your temp a little if I had less clothes on, you know? Get your blood pumping a little.” He teases, feeling his hand against her back. She smiles. “I was kind of hoping that you’d be wearing something a little sexier, but the longer I see that plaid the more it gets me going.”

“Shut up, idiot. I’m not trying to be  _ sexy,  _ I’m trying to stay warm.” She laughs, and she’s suddenly thankful that they’re both in separate sleeping bags just in case there’s even a  _ little  _ bit of truth to that. Now  _ that  _ would be awkward. 

“That’s what I’m saying: you don’t have to try.” He says, and even though she can’t see him, knows he’s smiling that stupid boyish grin he always gives after saying something like that.

“You’re such a flirt, Stilinski,” She sighs, but she never wants this moment to end for the rest of her life. They’re snuggling for warmth, and he’s flirting with her while wrapped around her. 

“You know you love it, Martin” He laughs, and so does she. And now she knows they can have special moments without even having to kiss. 

Then they say their goodnights, and she’s finally starting to warm up. They still hear Allison moan every few minutes, and they’ve even heard her and Scott laughing a few times. But they just ignore it and lay there silent, not even knowing if the other is even still awake to hear it. 

She tries to live in the moment and take in everything around her right now: the scent, the temperature, the feel of him, because she doesn’t want to ever forget this for the rest of her life. 

“Lydia? Still awake?” Stiles whispers, long after the noises ended from the other tent. That wakes her out of her half-awake half-dreaming state, but she doesn’t budge at all. He tries again a second later, saying her name. She doesn’t reply though again, even though she wants to. Late nights are when everything you want to say in the daytime gets talked about. She wants to wake up but her mind is too groggy, and she's not even sure if this even real. 

Giving up after the second try, he presses his warm lips against her forehead and pulls her against him again. She can’t help wandering what he could have possibly said to her that late at night, while he’s still wide awake and thinking. She knows this is going to be a moment she looks back on, scolding herself because she could have just said: “Yeah, I’m awake.” and it could have changed her life, or it could have ruined it. His unspoken words are already haunting her.  



	56. Awake

She wakes up shaking. Quite literally shaking from the low temperatures. It’s one of those moments when you sleep somewhere other than your bed, and you wake up with that sense of being lost for a moment before you remember the happenings of the night before. 

“Jesus, Martin,” Stiles groans in his gravelly morning voice, and she opens her eyes to see the sun’s barely even up outside. It’s still mostly dark, other than the orange from the dying fire and the slightly different shade of orange from the early-rising sun. “Come here.”

“How are you not dying right now?” Her teeth chatters, and he unzips his sleeping bag. 

“Because I’m not a  _ baby  _ and I can survive fifty-five degree weather.” He laughs sleepily, and grabs her from her sleeping bag. She slides into his with him, and he zips it up around her. “Come here.”

“You’re warm,” She hums, pressing her cheek against his chest. He puts his arms fully around her, and tangles their legs together. 

“You’re cold.” He laughs, rubbing his hands up her arms to help warm her up. 

“I wonder what time it is.” She sighs, smelling the autumn-themed smell of the crackling fire. She can smell him too: the scent of cinnamon and pine trees. 

“By the location of the sun, I’m guessing about five, five thirty maybe.” Stiles hums quietly, running his fingers through her hair gently. Her eyes slowly shut at the soothing feeling, and she snuggles comfortably against his chest. She’s pretty sure she’s still half asleep, and he may be too. 

“Hey, what were you going to tell me last night? I was still asleep I think, but I thought I heard you say something.” She says with a long, relaxed breath, and he clears his throat a little. 

“Nothing. I just couldn’t sleep, is all.” He replies, but with his change in tone and sudden tenseness of his body tells her something’s up. So she opens her eyes and moves her head back so it’s laying on his arm. This is the first time she’s really  _ seen  _ him this morning, and as soon as she does she catches her breath. Yes, it’s cliché obviously, but she’s sure that anyone in their right mind (that may not even be a factor) would feel the same way. His hair is tousled and messy, and his eyes are squinty and tired. He looks so goddamn sexy that she just wants to put her hands all over him. 

“Stiles, really,” She looks at him, her teeth chattering starting to finally fade out. “I can tell when you’re lying so you might as well just stop.” She smiles a little, letting him know there’s no  _ real  _ pressure. 

He looks at her for a second, looking serious. But then he breaks into a smile, and pulls her to him again. 

“Lyd, seriously, it was nothing.” He teases, and she laughs, even though something feels a little off. “Jesus, what did you think I was going to say?”

“Just forget it,” She laughs, feeling a little disappointed. “I’m tired, let’s go back to sleep okay?”

“I was just about to say that.” He sighs contently, and she turns around in his arms, pulling them around her waist. She knows he's lying now and she's a little down about it. She understands, of course, but something's going on that she doesn't know about, and that makes her a little uneasy.

“Lydia, wake up,” Stiles laughs a little, nudging her. 

“God, leave me alone,” she groans, burying her head in the pillow.

“Be quiet! I hear Scott and Allison talking.” He sits up, putting a single finger to his lips to shh her. She rolls her eyes. 

“And?” She huffs with annoyance, her head groggy. The sun is fully up now, but she isn’t sure how long it’s been since they woke up the first time. 

_ “And  _ we should pull a prank on them. I doubt they know we’re up yet.” He raises an eyebrow, and she rubs her eyes sleepily. 

“Like scare them?” She asks, sitting up a little. She knows her hair most definitely looks like a rats nest right now, but she’s too exhausted to care.  

“Something better,” He smiles evilly, and she’s already nervous from that look he’s giving. And...he starts groaning. Not in a painful way, in a sexual way. 

“What the hell?” Lydia gasps, her face heating up. 

“Play along,” He insists, before moaning again. Then he starts pounding his fist in a synchronized motion against the ground, causing a noise that vaguely sounds like bodies moving. He is so friggin’ hot that Lydia can feel her insides coiling at the thought of this ever being real. “Oh, Lydia.”

She covers her face then, but she’s laughing. As embarrassing and hot as it is, it’s funny, too. Allison and Scott stop talking, obviously hearing them now. 

“Stiles! Don’t stop!” Lydia moans out, trying not to bust out into a fit laughter the entire time. “Oh God!” 

“You’re good at this,” Stiles whispers as he pushes her arm in surprise. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Shut up, they’re coming,” She pushes him down, hearing Scott and Allison speaking quickly as they unzip their own tent. It’ll be a matter of seconds when they get into Stiles and Lydia’s tent. Stiles flips them over, and he’s on top of her in that tiny sleeping bag.

“You wanna kiss me?” He looks down at her, a little breathless but smiling. “For show, I mean.”

“For show,” She nods, trying not to laugh while they hear the surprised gasps of Allison and Scott trudging towards the tent. Stiles is just looking at her while they hear Scott and Allison unzipping the tent. So Lydia wraps her fingers around the back of his neck, keeping her thumb against his jaw as she pulls him down to kiss her. 

At first he’s pushing himself up, but eventually he relaxes and lets his body press down against hers. She wraps her legs around his back, and he’s pressing his fingers against her hips. 

“What the hell is going on in here?!” Allison asks loudly, breaking them apart. She steps into the tent, and even though this was all a big joke, nobody is laughing. Lydia doesn’t even feel like  _ smiling  _ anymore, because for those few seconds she had gotten so terribly wrapped up in their kissing, and then she was rudely awakened back into reality. Stiles sits up and forces a laugh a little, licking his lips. 

‘It was a joke.” He says, looking at Lydia. “Right?”

He’s looking at her with dilated pupils and swollen lips, and it takes everything in her not to pull him back down onto her.  

“Yeah. I mean, of course,” She scoffs with a laugh, narrowing her eyes and shaking her head. 

“A joke? How?” Scott furrows his eyebrows, and Allison’s right there beside him doing the same. 

“I just heard you guys up, and so I thought it would be funny if we started pretending to have sex. I mean, come on, it’s funny.” He laughs a little, but no one else is. Not even Lydia.

“A joke, huh, Stiles?” Allison tilts her head, and Lydia knows she’s about to pull out the big guns. She has no idea what they are, and she’s terrified. “Is this ‘joke’ the reason why you have a hard-on right now?”


	57. Home Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to post yesterday, sorry! Thank you all for being patient :)

“Oh my God, dude, you really do,” Scott laughs, but Lydia doesn’t even dare to look. She feels humiliated, and she knows he probably feels even worse. But on the bright side, he has a boner after making out with her. That means something. 

“Shut up,” Stiles groans, and Lydia takes in a sharp breath. 

“Want to explain yourself maybe?” Allison crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow.

“I haven't had any action in…a while. Since Ashley, to be exact, and towards the end there  _ we _ didn't even do anything. So sue me for…getting excited that making out and fake moans turn me on. And it's morning, so…” He forces out a laugh, and she can tell in his voice that he's embarrassed. That's a rare sight from him. 

“Great excuse, I'll give you that.” Allison mutters under her breath, looking around the tent. 

“What do you mean, “excuse?”” Stiles asks, and Lydia wants to run and not ever come back. She doesn't even want to hear the end of this conversation. 

“Stiles, don't play dumb; this is ridiculous.” Scott sighs, rubbing his forehead.

“I'm not playing dumb!” He starts, and Lydia knows if this keeps going someone is going to say something they regret. A lot. 

“Can we not start a fight, please?!” Lydia finally speaks out, and they all turn and look at her. “God, we were playing a prank, and we got carried away. If that's what he says it was, then I believe that. And everyone...stop looking at me.”

So Lydia gets up and out of the tent, walking past Scott and Allison and goes to the lake. She just wants to be...not here.

She holds back tears as she sits at the edge of the dock, staring across the still water. She's so overwhelmed by everything going on - not just this morning. How she feels, how she doesn't understand what  _ he's  _ feeling, and the incessant teasing from Scott and Allison. All of it is driving her crazy, and there's no one she can even talk to about it. 

She can hear someone walking up the dock behind her, and she closes her eyes. 

“I'm sorry.” Stiles says, and she turns to look up at him. Then he sits down beside her, and she turns back around to look at the water. “That was probably awkward for you, and I really am sorry. Allison wanted to come talk to you but I thought it would be better if I did.”

“It's fine. I mean...you can't really help that.” She breathes out, gulping even as she says it. “I just mean that's it's not...God, I don't know, I mean…”

“No, I get it,” He laughs, bumping his shoulder against hers. “I almost said it was those sexy plaid pajamas but I didn't think they'd get the joke.”

“God, you're an idiot,” She laughs, shaking her head. He laughs too and puts his head on her shoulder. 

“So do you hate me now?” He asks in a whiny voice, and puts his arms around her pitifully. If this was anyone else in the world she'd probably push them in the water without a moment's hesitation. But on him it's cute and blush-worthy. 

“Shut up, you know I couldn't hate you. Even though it would be nice sometimes if I could.” She laughs, and he sits up and looks at her. 

“No, you don’t,” He smiles at her, and she looks at him and laughs. 

“So you really haven’t, uh...met anyone since Ashley?” Lydia asks, trying to sound as if she couldn’t care less. 

“Why? Would you be jealous if I had?” He asks, smiling smugly at her. 

“Shut up,” She laughs, looking down at the rippling water. 

“What about you?” He asks a few minutes later, and she can feel him looking at her. “Do you...like anyone?” 

For a second, she wants to just tell him. She wants to tell him her feelings for him, tell him that she’s always liked him. But she knows better than that. 

“No.” She answers simply, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I mean... it’s kind of hard after Jackson or something I guess.”

“Yeah, I get it.” He nods, and she gulps. Why does it always get awkward between them? It's inevitable now every time they speak.

“Well, I guess we should go back then, right?” She laughs, standing up. She holds her hand out to help him up, but he doesn't use it. She just bites her lip and hopes he hadn't even seen it at all. 

He walks ahead of her, and she jogs a little to catch up. Again, she just hopes he hadn't even noticed he was doing it. 

“So is everything good now?” Allison looks up at them, looking a little worried. Lydia laughs and nods, sitting across from them around the recently-lit fire. Stiles moves his chair a little further away from hers, and sits down. 

“Great,” Allison breaks out into a smile, relieved. “We’re going to stop teasing you guys. Really this time.”

“Finally,” Lydia laughs, glancing over at Stiles. He’s just leaned back against his chair with his eyes closed. Is he mad at her or is she imagining it? “I would honestly kill for a shower right now. I wish that lake wasn’t freezing cold.”

At any other moment, Stiles would have chimed in and said, “Let’s go wash off in the lake. I know some things that would keep you warm.” But instead he doesn’t move, or look at her, or say anything. 

“I know. God, I feel so grimy.” Scott laughs, roasting a marshmallow over the fire. 

“What time do you guys want to head home?” Allison asks sadly. Nobody wants to really leave and go back to reality. 

“We should probably start packing up pretty soon. I mean, it’s not very late but my mom’s gonna kill me if I’m gone all weekend and don’t finish my homework.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Lydia says sadly, popping a marshmallow in her mouth. “Stiles, what do you think?”

She doesn’t want to directly ask “what’s wrong?” but she definitely wants to test the waters. Because he may not even be mad over anything, and it wouldn’t be the first time she made something out to be way bigger than it needed to be in her head. 

“I’ll do whatever you guys want to do.” He responds, not even opening his eyes at all. It didn’t sound  _ angry  _ exactly, just...distant. What even went wrong in that short amount of time to make him act this way? Maybe he just doesn’t want to leave. 

Allison mouths to Lydia: “What’s wrong with him?” Lydia just shrugs her shoulders and sighs. Boys are confusing and exhausting. 

So they talk for a little while longer, with Stiles not contributing a word to the conversation. Eventually they all get up and start packing their stuff and heading back to the car. Stiles doesn’t even speak the entire time, and it’s making Lydia uneasy. Something is definitely up now, and it’s not just all in her head. 

“So how does it feel crossing this off of your list as something to do before you die?” Lydia asks, long enough into the car ride where Scott and Allison are already up front and in their own world. Lydia and Stiles are in the backseat. 

“Mhmm,” He nods, pressing his forehead against the window. 

“Are you...okay? Did I say something to upset you earlier?” She asks, trying to think back to the conversation. 

“No, I’m fine, Lydia,” He replies, sighing and rubbing his temples. He rarely ever calls her just “Lydia.” It sounds weird. 

“Well you don’t sound it.” She retorts, wanting to take offense and cross her arms, but she makes it sound as nice as she can anyway. Being rude isn’t going to help anything. “Can you just tell me what I did wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” He replies, now with annoyance. She sits there in shock for a second at the bitterness of his tone. She knew something was wrong, but that sounded unlike him. 

“Don’t talk to me like that. I was only trying to help.” She snaps back, and then turns her body around and looks out the window. The whole atmosphere of the car feels tense now, but she’s pissed off so she doesn’t care. He doesn’t reply. 

When they finally get to the school, she just wants to be home. She’s tired and cranky and ready for a long, hot shower to wash away the stench of sweat and dirt. She does think about what Allison said, though. Kiss Stiles before the end of the trip. Yes, they joked around and kissed, but Lydia knew what she was talking about. No excuses, no pranks, just a kiss. A real one. 

But right now, she doesn’t even want to do that. 

Scott helps Lydia carry her bags to her car, and she glances over at Stiles. They make eye contact for a second before he looks away. He probably feels guilty now, but until he apologizes she’s still a little annoyed. 

So she says goodbye to them all, and finally heads home. She washes the dirt off of her skin and out of her hair, and she even lets herself cry in the shower for a little bit. Just when things start getting good, something always goes wrong. And most of the time she can pinpoint it enough to where it can be fixed. But this time it seems so random and strange and out of nowhere. And it’s upsetting. 

After her shower she lays on the couch, feeling her wet hair start to dampen her t-shirt as she watches TV. And then she hears a knock on the door. Expecting it to be Allison, she yawns as she walks over towards the door, yelling, “Why do you never use your key?!”

“If only I had one,” Stiles replies, standing a few feet from the doorway entrance. His hair is damp too, and he smells amazing. 

“Stiles,” She says, a little shocked. She wasn’t expecting this at all. “What’s up? Do you want to...come in or something?”

“No, I can’t stay very long. I just wanted to apologize for earlier.” He breathes in, gulping. “I was being a dick, I know. I’m so used to...playing this douchebag, that it just comes out of me sometimes. But that’s not me. I guess I just wasn't feeling good.”

“It’s okay. You were just in a bad mood, that’s fine. Just...for a second I thought it was directed towards me, and I was confused and everything. But it’s fine. We’re fine.” She runs her sentences together a little, and then gets flustered about that, of course. 

“Okay, great,” He breathes out an obvious sigh of relief, laughing as he rubs the back of his neck. “I didn’t want to leave that hanging until tomorrow.”

“You could have just called, you know,” She laughs, but is secretly thanking  _ God  _ he didn’t. 

“I know. But there’s some things that should be said face-to-face. This was one of them.” He smiles a little, tilting his head. “I guess I’m gonna go. I have homework.”

“Bye then, geek,” She smiles, making him laugh. 

“Bye, Leia,” He leans in, kissing her cheek. She watches him walk away then, twirling his fingers around his keyring. She feels like her whole body’s on fire, and she clenches her fists at her sides. 

“Stiles?” She calls after him, and he stops and turns around to look at her. 

“Yeah?” He asks, and she knows that any sort of hesitation she might have had about doing this just flew out the window. It’s not too late. 

She looks down at her feet as she takes the first step outside, and then she looks up at him. He looks a little clueless, but then she rushes forward and kisses him. She clutches at his shirt in desperation, and she has no idea how he’s feeling at all about this because he’s not kissing back. He’s stiff. 

She pulls away then, feeling her breath rising and falling with each intake. He stares down at her, looking shocked. It’s written all over his face. Right as she’s about to run in her house and never come out, he drops his keys on the pavement and pushes his fingers through her hair, kissing her again. Feverishly and messily and full of want. They stumble back into her house somehow, moaning and sighing and clutching at any part of each other they can grab. 

Allison said to kiss him before the camping trip was over, but...maybe she’ll give her a pass with this one. 


	58. Superficial Airhead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm not supposed to update until Monday, but...I couldn't help it! 
> 
> (Also, thank you for 500+ comments and 1000+ kudos!!!)

"Wait, wait, Stiles - stop," Lydia pants, pulling away from his lips. She wants to scream, because they're finally,  _ finally _ about to have something happen, and she has to ruin it. She doesn't know why she's even doing it, but the words come out before she can stop them.

"What? What's wrong?" He searches her face breathlessly, worriedly. God, he's hot when he's worried.

She sits up a little on the couch, her heart racing. He sits back too, but his hand is still on her leg, not letting her focus. Her head is fuzzy.

"We have to talk," Lydia gulps, biting her lip. He stares down at them, and then looks back into her eyes. This is so distracting. "I have to tell you something."

He looks at her and nods slowly, and she takes in a long, uneven breath. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. Go ahead."

"Um, okay," She clears her throat, and her heart starts pounding in her ears. She's about to tell him everything, and none of it even feels real. "I have to start by s-"

Then his cellphone starts ringing. Full blast, literally, and it's the Darth Vader theme song. As sexy as that is, it's a complete mood-killer right now.

"I'm sorry. God, I'm sorry, I just charged my phone when I got back and dad already suspects I was lying about staying at Scott's as it is. He's worried about me. I think he thinks it's drugs," He half-laughs, half-groans, playing off the weirdly-serious moment as a joke.

He presses "deny," and shoves his phone back into his pocket. "What were you saying? I'm sorry."

It's not there anymore. She always planned that when and if she told him her feelings, it would be a perfect moment and a perfect ending. One of those is already ruined, and she knows it isn't the right time at all. It was there and then it disappeared within a matter of seconds.

"That's crazy," She gulps and clears her throat, forcing a laugh out. "I was actually just going to say we should all tell our parents the truth. You know, try the whole "they're more like my friend than my parent" type of thing, right? That's the problem with our generation, I think, beca-"

"Lydia," Stiles stops her, and she can already feel the exhaustion she'll have tomorrow from not sleeping a wink tonight.  _ "That's _ what you wanted to tell me? That you think we shouldn't lie about an innocent camping trip to our parents? We're here, we're alive. Is that _...really _ what you were going to say?"

She opens her mouth to say something; find another excuse, most likely, but then his phone rings again. He puts his face in his hands for a second, obviously irritated, before getting his phone back out. He looks at the screen briefly, and his thumb hesitates over the "deny" button, before moving to hover over the "answer" button.

"I guess I should just go, then," He mutters, looking at her. Looking for any sign that she wants him to stay. "Unless there's something you really wanted to tell me."

Again, the mood is still dead. The loud Darth Vader theme is ringing through her ears. For once, she actually would rather be listening to anything else besides the Star Wars soundtrack right now. Anything.

"Pssht, what? You're acting...so weird," She scoffs and shakes her head, furrowing her eyebrows. Her voice is unnaturally high-pitch, which is her lying voice. She wonders if he knows that or not. "I already told you what I was going to say. Go ahead, or your dad might...arrest you."

She grits her teeth and shakes her head as she says it. This is horribly awkward, and she has no idea how they had been kissing only a minute ago. It seems like a whole lifetime.

"Okay," He nods, but still denies the call anyway. He stands up from the couch, and she watches him shift his weight from one foot to another, waiting for something that isn't going to happen. "I'll see you tomorrow then, I guess."

"Mhmm," She replies, giving a tight, forced smile. He starts walking away, but then he stops at the entryway to the living room, gently pressing his hand to the wall before turning around.

"We shouldn't tell Scott or Allison about this," He says, as sure as his voice can be. "It was a mistake. We don't want them having another reason to tease us about something that's obviously never going to happen, right?"

That feels like a stab to the heart. She hasn't felt this horrible since he and Ashley were together, and she had to see them kiss and act like a couple. This feels even worse somehow.

So she just nods. She doesn't let herself cry, not yet. Not while he's looking at her, waiting for a reaction.

"Bye, Stiles. Be careful going home - it looks like it's going to storm soon." She says, sounding like one of those robotic people who can't find anything interesting to conversate about besides the weather. She doesn't feel like herself.  

He looks at her for a second, a blank expression across his face. He laughs a little, and then clenches his jaw. "I will."

He turns around and walks out, and she can hear the door shut a few seconds later.

Even though she wants to cry, she can't. She just sits in the same position for what feels like hours, staring blankly into nothingness.

The next morning she forces herself out of bed, and feels like a zombie as she showers and gets dressed. She's nervous to see him, because she doesn't know how he's going to act towards her. She has a feeling that he probably won't even speak to her at all.

She hasn't even told Allison about any of this, on top of that. She's just rolling around in her own mistakes and problems, and she knows Allison would make her feel better but she doesn't even  _ want _ to feel better right now.

She was right about the weather. It's pouring rain and there's thunder and lightning, so on top of the "no-sleep" headache, there's also a "change-in-pressure" headache. And she walks into school tired and hurting and cranky and soaking wet because she forgot an umbrella.

"Lydia, what's up?" She hears a familiar voice, but she's so shocked by the sound of it that she turns and face-plants into the door of her locker. She puts her hand to her forehead, groaning in pain. "Whoa, you okay?"

She turns around fully, squinting her eyes to see Stiles standing there propped against the lockers. His hat is backwards, he has on nike shorts and those weird sandals, and she has to take a step back to even recognize him for a second. He looks like a typical douchebag jock.

"Jesus, Stiles, you scared the hell out of me," Lydia rubs her forehead, confused. Is this a dream? Please no, because that means she'll have to shower and get dressed again when she wakes up.

"I like your outfit," He looks her up and down, keeping his eyes on her chest way longer than he should have.

"It's a T-shirt and jeans," She scoffs, crossing her arms.

He puts his hand on her waist, sliding it down across her hips before whispering: "I bet your clothes aren't the only thing that's wet."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She practically yells, pushing him off of her. "My God,  _ are _ you on drugs? What is this?!"

"What's going on?” Scott cuts in, just arriving. People are staring now.

"Stiles is being weird! God, and he even said something very, no,  _ extremely _ sexual to me. Worse than usual, and somehow didn't feel like much of a joke," She explains, gulping. Stiles just leans up against the locker, laughing. Even Scott looks taken aback by his behavior.

Let's get this straight. In any normal situation, this would be hot. In fact, she probably would faint. But this is  _ not _ a normal situation. She's not sure if it's because of last night or what, but Stiles isn't...Stiles. He's reverted back to the person he was before she got to really know him. A superficial dickwad, to be exact.

"Stiles, are you...okay?" Scott asks him in a whisper, feeling all of the stares on them. Stiles just glares at Lydia with a smirk, and then finally turns to Scott.

"Of course." He replies, and Scott stands there in shock himself. Then Allison walks up smiling, before seeing the looks on everyone's faces. Then she frowns.

"What's wrong?"

Then the bell rings, and Lydia rushes to first period before anyone can ask her anything. She doesn't know if she should be completely pissed off or upset. She's confused and hurt and weirded out by how strange this day has already become.

Stiles comes into the classroom late, and slides down into his chair, tucking a pencil behind his ear. She taps her pencil against her desk, breathing in deeply. He's a douchebag, but he's just...so hot, too. And then in that moment, she feels like it was three months ago again, and they were just starting back school. She was hopelessly in love with him, staring at him longingly throughout class because she saw something more in him than just a stupid athlete that only cares about girls and sports. Now she knows all about him; his family problems, his favorite songs, movies, his secrets. But somehow it's all lost again.

Allison tries to talk to Lydia after class, but she blows her off. She doesn't really want to talk.

On her way to lunch, she sees Stiles making out with some girl against his locker. Lydia looks straight ahead, adjusting her backpack and pretending she doesn't notice. She's heartbroken.

Instead of suffering through the rest of the school day, she detours to the nurse's office and convinces her she's sick and needs to go home. It's not really a lie, after all. She does feel sick.

The next day the storms are even worse. She sees Stiles flirting with a different girl today, but as soon as he sees her he drops them and walks alongside Lydia. She doesn't pay attention to him at all.

"The lacrosse game got cancelled Friday. It's supposed to be storming all week." He says, but he has that "cool guy" attitude that absolutely drives her up the friggin' wall.

"Amazing." She says with fake enthusiasm, not even bothering to glance at him. They go into class then, and he doesn't say anything to her after that. Except on her way to fourth period, she gets pulled into an empty hallway by him and pressed against the wall. He looks at her for a few seconds, before slipping a note into her back pocket. Then he walks away, leaving her standing there breathless.

She pulls the note out of her pocket with shaking hands, and reads it.

"Meet me in the janitor's closet after last period. We need to talk." It said, but she had to read over it about ten different times before she fully understood it. Her mind is everywhere.

She's confused about what this might be about. Maybe he's apologizing. Maybe he wants to curse her out because she embarrassed him today. The curiosity is killing her.

Finally school's out, and she stands outside of the closet for a moment before breathing in and opening the door. Her heart starts racing the second she sees him. He's just standing there, waiting.

They both stand there looking at each other. It's not awkward, exactly, just a room with two people who have no idea what to say to each other.

"You said you wanted to talk." She whispers, her eyes finally adjusting to the low light.

"I wanted to see you," He mutters, stepping forward. "I wanted to see if you would still look at me with disgust if it was just us."

"I-I don't know what's going on with you. You're not acting like yourself, and I'm worried." She says quietly, and he steps closer again. "I...I saw you kissing that girl yesterday."

"I know." He says simply, closing the gap between their bodies. Something about him feels real now, as if it's her Stiles again. And it's so comforting that she lets herself get caught up in it.

He leans down and kisses her. It's delicate and gentle, and she melts into his embrace.

His lips are barely moving against hers, and she's so lost in him that she reaches up and tangles her fingers in his hair, letting him press her against the wall. He kisses across her jawline then, and she can feel his warm breath against her skin. His hand is on her waist, and then it’s pushing her hair back so he can press his lips to her neck. She whimpers and sighs, and even sinks her fingernails into his arm as he gently grazes his teeth along her collarbone.

"Stiles," She moans out, and that seems to get him going even more. He's sucking on her neck while he grabs one of her hands, guiding it down his own body. Before too long she takes control, and snakes her hand up his shirt. She feels the hot, sweaty skin of his toned chest, and she scrapes her nails down it. He moans, and then pushes her harder against the wall. His hands pin hers to the wall behind her, and it's getting so intense that she feels herself breaking out into a sweat. It's not gentle anymore, and she's perfectly fine with that.

One of his arms reach up and spread horizontally across both of hers, and then he uses his free hand to reach under her shirt and unhook her bra. He moves his hand up her back, pushing his fingers into the indented skin.

"Tell me how much you want me," He demands, gasping. The sickness from yesterday churns in her belly again. This isn't him. "Tell me, Lydia."

"I don't...I don't want this with you. Not with  _ this _ you." She gulps, finally pushing him off of her. This is the jock. This is the douchebag. This is the fake Stiles. It was so hard to fight it when it was his hands, his body, his kiss, his touch. But it's not her Stiles, and she doesn't want anything to do with this side of him.

"What the hell does that mean?!" He asks, still unable to catch his breath as she hurriedly hooks her bra back.

"I mean, this isn't you. This isn't my Stiles. This isn't the one I want to be with!" She yells, trying to keep herself from bursting out in tears. "I don't know what happened to you yesterday, but I'm already sick of this airhead asshole that you've become."

"You want me. You wanted me five seconds ago, and you want me now." He breathes out, looking at her like he's sure of it.

"I want the real Stiles. Not this superficial guy who flirts with every girl he sees, or has to make sexual advances to every girl he sees. This isn't you, I know it. I don't know what's happened to you, but as long as this Stiles is around, I want nothing to do with you." She grits her teeth, opening the door of the closet. Then she walks out, and she knows he's just left there waiting.

The hall is empty now, and the lights are either out because of the weather, or someone already shut them off.

"Lydia, I did this for you, you idiot!" He yells after her down the hall, and she can hear his voice breaking. She turns around and looks at him, and he's crying. "You didn't want me, the real me. So I thought that if I turned back into the guy I was before, you would finally want me again. That's the only way I thought you would ever want me. I was willing to do it if that meant I'd have you."

"What are you saying?" She gulps, looking into his desperate, swollen eyes. He looks like he's falling to pieces right in front of her.

"Don't you know by now?" His voice cracks as he clenches his jaw sadly. "My God, Lydia, I'm in love with you."


	59. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is extremely short, but I'm working on an epilogue now that I'll be posting next week! Thank you all so, so much for all of the supportive comments; you really have NO idea how good that feels that you like my work so much!!
> 
> Again, I know it's short - like really short - but bear with me! The epilogue will be pretty long, I just knew I really had to make this chapter, and it didn't fit with the last chapter or the epilogue, so I kind of smushed it in between. Anyway, thanks again and bear with me please!!

“That’s...it isn’t...” She makes herself breathe, feeling her vision starting to blur. "Stiles, you can’t. You...you don’t.”

“Are you kidding me? You had to have figured that out by now.” He gulps, watching her. “I thought you knew. I thought…”

“I didn’t. I didn’t know.” She bites her lip, tears staining her cheeks. “You always would deny everything Scott and Allison said about us. You always…you never once hinted that you liked me.”

“Lydia, I kissed you. I kissed you so many times, and I kept making excuse after excuse so I could kiss you again. Normal people don’t just do that, you know? I always came with Scott to hang out with you, I flirted with you  _ all the damn time.  _ I even changed my ringtone to impress you. I came to  _ your house  _ while I was piss drunk, and  _ kissed  _ you, for god’s sake.” He breathes out, and she’s so in shock that she feels lightheaded. “Did you not know how jealous of Jackson I was? That he had you and I didn’t? I was so happy that morning we slept at the lacrosse friend, because I knew there would be a barrier between you and Jackson. I wanted him to figure out so badly, and I know that's wrong, I do. I was just so jealous that it was driving me absolutely insane. Jesus Christ, Lydia, I thought I loved Ashley. I really thought that. But I had no goddamn clue what love was until I met you.”

“Stiles...why are you saying this now? I'm so confused. I'm just so...what about “let's not let them tease us about something that's never going to happen?”” She asks, gulping. “What about…”

“I said that because I wanted you to prove me wrong. I wanted you to say no, that's not true. After we kissed that night I thought you were going to...tell me you liked me. It was stupid, I know, but when you didn't, I…I don't know. I was upset. I figured you didn't like me. And I know you used to have a crush on me, or find me attractive or something, but it was like the more you knew me, the less you liked me. So I thought if I went back to how I was, you would like me again. That's all I wanted.”

“Stiles, I did like the guy you were before I knew you. I  _ liked _ him, yeah, but I love  _ you.  _ The real you, the one you are when you aren't worried about popularity. I got comfortable around you, but that didn't mean my feelings went away. They just got stronger.” She sighs, and feels her fists clenched at her sides. “I love you. I've loved you for so long. All throughout elementary, middle school, and every second since. You have no idea, Stiles. There were so many times I wanted to tell you how I felt, but I was just so terrified of losing you as even a friend that I just didn't. I couldn't lose you. I'm in love with you. Stiles,  _ I love you.” _

“You do?” He asks, choking out a shaky laugh. She nods and laughs too, not being able to find words to speak her mind right now. 

“Of course I do.” She gulps, feeling like this is one of those amazing dreams that she doesn't want to wake up from. But it's real and she can hardly breathe, and for once she doesn't even mind that feeling.

Stiles laughs and steps forward, wrapping his arms around her so tightly that she feels like he's never going to let go. She doesn't want him to. 


	60. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this is the last chapter! Thank you all so, so much for staying with me this long. I can't thank you all enough, and I'm definitely going to miss writing this story!

“Hit like you mean it, Lyd, come on,” Stiles takes his stance again, holding his hands up for her to hit. 

“Stiles, when you said train me to fight, I thought you meant it would be like a cute fun thing,” She breathes out loudly, gulping. “And not  _ every single day.” _

“Get over it and start hitting! I'm already getting hungry.” He smiles at her a little, still holding his arms out.

After the day where they confessed their feelings, they called Scott and Allison to meet them at the diner. After they told them, Allison squealed in happiness, accidentally knocking a plate off of the table after leaning over it to hug them. Then, she said: “I knew it. Me and Scott both did. No, really probably all of Beacon Hills did.” Stiles just put his arm around Lydia, laughing. Scott congratulated them, and said “Finally! I thought Stiles would never ‘fess up.”

“This has been the actual longest two weeks of my life,” She groans, holding her fists up. She's about to hit once again, but then she sees the sweat dripping down his long, bare torso, and his parted lips taking in breaths. He's looking at her, waiting. 

She throws a punch, slamming into his padding-covered hand. 

“That was weak. Try again.” He wipes the sweat from his forehead, resuming his position. So she hits again, and again, and as she's hitting the fourth time, he asks mid-punch: “What’s going on?” 

“I'm just...a little distracted,” She grunts as she punches his hand again. 

“From what?” He asks, as she tries to sideswipe his ribs, but he turns and grabs her arm and twists it, holding her hands behind her back. “That was a faulty strategy.”

Her breath is rising and falling quickly with each breath, and her back is pressed against his chest. He's breathless too.

“You know why it was weak?” He asks in her ear, sliding his hand over her stomach, and down, down-

She turns in his arms, breaking her hands free from his grip. “Because you're opponent can easily flip that move to their own benefit. I get it.”

“Good.” He smirks, pushing his hair away from his face with the back of his wrist. 

“Stop.” She gulps, hitting his hands once again. 

“Stop what?” He asks, but he knows exactly what he's doing. 

“Shut up,” She groans, trying to keep herself together. 

“What did I do?” He asks, smiling slightly. 

“You're such a  _ dick,”  _ She breathes out, slamming her fist into his hand. “You're trying to distract me.” 

She grits her teeth and punches it again, and then the third time he grabs her hand before it collides with his. He pulls her against him, and then turns and pushes her against the wall. 

“You think you aren't distracting me?” He asks in a low voice, making her have to part her lips to be able to breathe. His hand curves around the small of her back, and she bites her lip as he looks down at her. “I can see right down your sports bra. I think that falls under the major distraction category.”

“That's different. You were  _ trying  _ to distract me by running your hand across my stomach, or wiping the stupid sweat from your stupid forehead. You knew what you were doing.” She pants, having to force herself not to reach up and lick the sweat from his beautiful body. 

“The fact that you weren’t trying makes it so much worse,” He blocks her from moving, and she would be completely okay with that in any normal situation. But right now, she  _ knows  _ he’s trying to distract her enough to win. She won’t let that happen; not after two weeks of non-stop training. 

“Kiss me,” She whispers, and for a moment he almost does. In that short window of time she punches his stomach, and slips under his arm. 

“Unfair!” He laughs, holding his stomach before running after her. He chases her through the school gym, both of them laughing. He finally catches up to her and wraps his arms around her stomach, tripping her. They fall onto a big blue mattress that’s meant for cheerleaders, and Stiles holds himself up with his elbows. He pulls his gloves off dramatically and throws them, and she laughs as he leans down and kisses her. 

“I love being able to kiss you any time I want to.” He says between kisses, and it still never fails to make her heart race. She reaches up and puts her arms around his neck, pulling the velcro off of her boxing gloves and throwing them next to his.

He pulls back a little and smiles at her, pushing hair away from her face. “I think my ribs are gonna bruise.”

“I think you’ll be okay.” She rubs her thumb against his cheek, and then through his hair. She’s never been this happy in her life. 

“You’re a jerk,” He kisses her once, then twice, and she shivers as he kisses down her jaw. 

“I’m sweaty,” She laughs, and he pushes her hair back so he can kiss her neck. “That’s gross.”

“Do you think I care?” He laughs against her skin, kissing all over her neck. 

“You still make me nervous.” She says, pulling his face up so she can look at him. “You always have.”

“You’re the only person who’s ever been able to make me nervous. That...kind of threw me off a little.” He laughs, and she covers her face in her hands. 

“I did? When?” She gasps, her eyes widening.

“The diner? The first time? You were so cute when you walked into the wrong classroom. When I was in the diner that day and saw you, I had to mentally prepare myself to go up to your table. I didn't know why. My hands were actually  _ sweating,  _ you know that?” He laughs, shaking his head embarrassedly. “I'd never ever felt that way before.”

“No way. That day? Really?” She smiles brightly, gulping. She wants to cry, because she had never known.

“Yeah. I was trying to act so cool, oh my god. I was so embarrassed afterwards because you really showed me up. I sat in my car for like, fifteen minutes because my heart was racing so fast. I guess that was when I first knew...I don't know. I knew I liked you. And then I thought you hated me, and that crushed me. I kept trying to make you jealous with Ashley, but I knew it just pushed you away further and further. I didn't know what to do.” He rolls off of her and falls onto his back beside her, turning to look at her. 

“Are you confessing your love for me  _ again,  _ Stilinski?” She smiles, propping her cheek on her hand, which is held up by her elbow. 

“Yeah. And I'll keep doing it, Martin. Do you have a problem with that?” He smiles, and she pushes his chest with a laugh, shaking her head.

“You know,” She sighs, scooting closer to him and holding his hand. “I thought you hated me. Like...you were so rude to me at first. And we kept fighting and bickering, and I was convinced you couldn’t stand me and that hurt because I liked you so much.” 

“I know. I know I was a jerk, you were right. But I was with Ashley, and I knew liking you was wrong. And honestly, I was a little in denial about my feelings for you. I hadn’t ever felt that way about someone, and it was throwing me off like, a lot. That stupid cool guy act was just a coping mechanism because I had  _ no idea  _ how to act around you.” Stiles laughs, and Lydia sticks her bottom lip out pitifully. “Oh my  _ god,  _ and when you said you and Jackson were going to go out? I wanted to scream in jealousy. I can’t even explain it.”

“Now you know how I felt watching you and Ashley, idiot,” She laughs, but she gulps and feels tears filling her eyes. “For years and years. It was tormenting.”

“Don’t cry,” He whines, using his abnormally large thumbs to wipe her face. 

“I’m crying because I’m happy,” She laughs, putting her hand on top of the one of his that’s cupping her cheek. 

“I had no idea how happy I could be.” He sighs, looking in her eyes and kissing her nose. “I couldn’t be myself with my friends, I thought. But you saw the real me, before I had even showed it to anyone else. You saw me for me, and I didn’t realize how relieving that was to find in somebody.”

“I knew you were so much more than what you pretended to be.” She inches closer, nuzzling her face against his warm neck. He pulls her closer, settling his hand on her back. 

“I was scared no one would ever see. I hated what people thought of me, because it wasn’t really me at all. I’m so thankful for you.” He holds her tight, and her chest is against his chest, and her sweaty skin is against his sweaty skin but she doesn’t even care. 

“This is all just so...crazy, you know? When you kissed me, I was over the moon. And then you told me we should pretend it didn’t happen, and it crushed me. I think I really gave up a lot of hope that day.” She admits, and he pulls back to look at her. 

“Lydia, you really have to be blind if you couldn’t see the way I felt about you,” He chokes out a laugh. “Oh my God, I regretted that moment I kissed you for so long, because before that it was mildly bearable. But after I kissed you, you were all I thought about, all day, all night. I only regretted it because I thought I would never have you and that tormented me for so long. And the second one? Remember, in my kitchen?”

“You idiot, how could I forget that?” She laughs, gently pushing his chest. He laughs too, sighing and turning to look up at the ceiling. 

“There was no better feeling than that day, when you kissed me back. Because I knew if you had really,  _ really  _ liked Jackson, you would have stopped me. That gave me hope. And I knew I was being so horrible, but I couldn’t help myself.” He sighs, smiling back at that moment. 

“Since you’re talking about just about every single moment we've ever spoken to each other, what about...the tent? What were you going to say to me the night when you asked if I was awake?” She asks gently, watching his expression. “That’s been killing me.”

“Oh yeah. God, I was up half the night thinking, and I was...I was actually going to tell you how I felt. I don’t know, I probably would have chickened out if you had replied, but it seemed like a great idea at the time.” He laughs, turning to her. 

“I wish you would have.” She smiles a little, trying to steady her breathing. Her hands are sweaty. 

“I do too.” He sighs, pulling her on top of him. He smiles up at her, and she’s laughing as he reaches up and pulls her hair from her ponytail, letting it cascade around him. “But I’m happy that it worked out anyway.”

Lydia smiles and leans down, and he pushes his fingers through the hair on the back of her neck, pulling her closer to him. They kiss again finally, and his hands press against her back, pulling her down.

“You don’t have to hold yourself up, you know,” He laughs between kisses, trying to help her relax. “Your body weight won’t hurt me.”

She laughs too, trying to make herself relax. 

“Fine, tough guy,” She loosens her body, pressing it against his. Then they kiss again, and he flips them over so he can be on top. He gives her one, long kiss, and then they both flutter their eyes open and smile. 

“I love you,” He grins, brushing loose strands of hair from her face. 

“I know.” She replies, making him scoff with a laugh. 

“Star Wars? Really, L-” He starts, but then her phone rings and she slips under him, laughing as she digs through her bag for her phone. He’s just laying there watching her, laughing as he shakes his head. 

“Hey, Allison, what’s up?” Lydia bites her lip, trying not to laugh into the phone. “Sure, what time? Yeah, we still need to shower first.” Lydia listens to Allison, and then glances over at Stiles, who is mouthing  _ “For what?”  _  Lydia turns away and laughs, listening to Allison’s voice. “Yeah, see you. Love you too, bye.”

“What, you can say you love her but not me? I’m hurt, Lyd, really.” He puts his hand to his heart, sighing. 

“Shut up, idiot,” She laughs, reaching her hand out to help him up. Instead he pulls her back down on the mattress, laughing. “Stiles, stop. We have to go shower and then meet Scott and Allison at the diner.”

“I think I’d rather stay here with you.” He lets his hand travel up her leg, and she reluctantly slaps it away. 

“Yes, but I already promised Allison we’d go. So get up.” She whines, pulling his arm. “We still have to get showers.”

“Then we could just take a shower together, right? It would save time.” He shrugs, and she rolls her eyes. 

“No, because that definitely would  _ not  _ save time. No  _ stuff  _ right now, when we’re supposed to be getting ready.” She laughs, standing up. “Get up! Or I’ll leave you.”

“You wouldn’t.” He sits up a little as she walks backwards slowly, raising an eyebrow. Then she quickly grabs her bag, turns, and races out of the gym. She runs and runs down the halls, and she even makes it to the parking lot before he swoops her up, making her scream. 

“How do you do that every time?” She breathes out, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“You have little legs. Each five steps you take is probably equal to the length I take with one step.” He shrugs, kissing her forehead. He holds her with one arm, and then effortlessly grabs his keys out of her bag with his other hand. When they get to his jeep he sets her down and they both climb in. They hold hands on the ride to her house, just keeping each other company with silence. 

“You go first.” Stiles offers, peeling his shirt off in the bathroom. She sets her clothes and hairbrush down on the counter, turning the water on. 

“Thanks.” She smiles, kissing his cheek. Then he props himself up on the counter, humming as he searches through the many bottles of products on her bathroom counter. “Well? Are you gonna let me shower?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” He smiles, and then looks back down at the bottle.

“Stiles!” She scoffs, and he laughs.

“What?”

“I can’t...shower with you in here.” She crosses her arms, chewing her lip. 

“Really? Why not? You’re my girlfriend, Lyd, I think I can control myself while you wash the sweat off of yourself.” He smiles at her, but she just feels her face heating up. She never gets over when he calls her his girlfriend. “Fine, fine, I’ll turn away while you take your clothes off.”

“Thank you.” She lets out a breath of relief, watching him turn his head around. She waits a second, still nervous, before she strips all of her clothes off hurriedly and jumps in the shower. So then she relaxes, letting the hot water stream down her back. 

“How are you doing in there? Need my help for anything?” He asks, making her laugh. 

“No, I’m good, Stiles. Thanks for the offer though!” She says, washing the shampoo from her hair. 

“Okay, close your eyes again.” She says, turning the water off. 

“Fine,” He laughs with a sigh. 

“Are they closed?”

“Yes.” 

“Don’t open them until I tell you.”

“Mhmm.”

She steps out finally, and she hurriedly wraps a towel around her body. 

“Is the coast clear?” He asks, laughing. 

“Yes. You can turn around and open your eyes.” She laughs, but she’s still a little unnerved. 

“Thank god. Because it would just be so awful if I saw my beautiful girlfriend naked.” He gasps, laughing.

“Oh, shut up,” She laughs, brushing out her hair in the mirror. From the corner of her eye, she notices Stiles untying his sweatpants behind her. She bites her lip and sets down her brush, turning around to watch. 

“Whoa, whoa, close your eyes.” He opens his mouth, trying not to smile. She hates the way that just a glance at his chest can make her weak in a matter of seconds. 

She grabs his arms, pulling him to her, against her. 

“I thought you said no  _ stuff.”  _ He raises his eyebrow, easily picking her up and setting her on the countertop. Then his hand slides up her leg, on her thigh, and then he stops right as he gets to the bottom of the towel. “Isn’t it against the rules when we’re trying to get ready?”

She takes in a sharp breath, looking his body up and down. The only thing he’s wearing are his Calvin Klein boxers, and his skin is shining from the shower steam. 

“I change my mind.” She gulps, tilting her and looking at him. “Maybe we can do  _ some  _ stuff.”

“Maybe…” He whispers, and she gulps as he slides his hand up higher, higher, and her breath is short. “Not.” He stops his hand, sighing. “We really should get ready so we can go meet Scott and Allison.”

“Stiles, oh my God. I hate when you do that.” She whines, as she walks out of the bathroom and upstairs. She hears him laughing as he gets in the shower.

“You look sexy,” Stiles leans against the doorway of her room, smiling as she sits up from her bed, locking her phone. 

“Stiles, I look the same as I do every day.” She replies, but still laughs and blushes, grabbing his hand. 

“You're sexy every day, then,” He shrugs, and she playfully punches his arm. 

“You don't so look bad yourself.” She sizes him up, smiling. In fact, he looks  _ hot.  _ And more than that, it's effortless. His hair is just messy and wet and he has on a plain black T-shirt and gray joggers, and that's all it takes for him to be the hottest guy on earth to her. 

“Come on. Scott's gonna kill me.” He laughs, leaving their fingers together and going downstairs.

“Finally! We've been waiting here for twenty minutes.” Allison complains, but when they approach the table she had already ordered their favorite foods. 

“Sorry. We just...got a little distracted for a few minutes.” Stiles knocks his arm against Lydia’s laughing. 

“We barely see you guys outside of school anymore.” Scott sighs, and Allison agrees.

“Yeah. We love you guys together, but we think you should spend more time together  _ with us.”  _ Allison laughs, tossing a fry at Lydia. 

“You're right. It's just...still the honeymoon phase, I guess.” Stiles looks to Lydia, and she blushes. He puts his arm around her and kisses her cheek. 

“Don't forget you both acted the same way when you first started dating. I barely ever saw Allison for a while, and then when I did all she'd talk about was Scott. So I think I deserve this.” Lydia states and Allison rolls her eyes.

“I guess you have a point.” Allison laughs, laying her head on Scott's shoulder. They're more in love than they've ever been. 

“It's Wednesday,” Lydia looks at them, taking a bite of her food. “So which movie?”

“Thor 2, remember?” Stiles knocks his arm against hers, and she nods.

“Oh yeah.” She laughs, and she looks out the window and sighs. Her life has been so amazing since they've been together, and she knows nothing will ever be able to take that away. 

“Stiles,” She turns to look at Stiles, laying her head back against of the seat. He's looking at Scott laughing, before he turns to Lydia and smiles at her. He lays his head back against the seat too, looking at her as he sets his hand on top of hers. “I love you.”

He gives a small smile, his eyes shining from the sunlight pouring through the warm window beside them. He leans in, kissing her nose and sighing, “I know.”


End file.
